The LEGENDS OF LEAGUE Series showcase the top 100 rugby league players who have made a significant impact on the sport in New Zealand and Australia -Learn more about their influence by clicking on any name

HERBERT 'DALLY' MESSENGER - "The Master" was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code

CLIVE CHURCHILL - Churchill's attacking flair as a player is credited with having changed the role of the fullback

BRAD THORN - Thorn represented Australia in rugby league and New Zealand in rugby union in a twenty-two year career as a player

MATTHEW RIDGE - A dual international, Ridge was a gun goal-kicker - he set several scoring records in rugby league

LES BOYD - Boyd was a hard nut on the pitch and known for his volatile nature and uncompromising style

PHIL BLAKE - Blake was a perennial journeyman, who played for Manly, Warrington, South Sydney, Wigan and the NZ Warriors

MARK GEYER - Geyer's talent as a second-row forward was more than matched by his aggression on the field which often saw him cross paths with officaldom

DAN FRAWLEY - A fast and agile wing, with an ability to effortlessly change direction, Frawley often positioned on the outside of rugby league Immortal Dally Messenger

DEAN BELL - Bell won the Man of Steel Award in 1992 and the Lance Todd Trophy in 1993, later inducted into the Wigan Warriors Hall of Fame

STEVE RENOUF - Renouf established numerous club records for the Brisbane Broncos and demonstrated exceptional talent with his lightning turn-of-foot

SEAN HOPPE - A powerhouse on the flank and an intercept specialist, Hoppe had the elite finishing qualities of any winger in the NRL

JOHN O'NEIL - He was known as arguably the toughest, most uncompromising player of his era - a bloke who gave as good as he got

KEVIN TAMATI - Tamati is perhaps best known for his fiery clash with Australian prop Greg Dowling which continued on the sideline after both players had been sent to the bin

NATHAN CAYLESS - Cayless captained New Zealand to victory in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, becoming one of the Kiwi's most-capped players

GRAHAM EADIE - The greenhorn kid who came down to join Manly from Woy Woy in 1971, would stay for 13 seasons and imprinted his name among the greats

JAMES LEALUAI - Leuluai had the best sidestep in rugby league, at least until Benji Marshall came along. He would have been a champion in the centres in any era

OLSEN FILIPAINA - Despite his size, the “Big O” was a deceptive runner and ball carrier that knew how to sidestep

JOHN O'NEILL - He was known as arguably the toughest, most uncompromising player of his era - a bloke who gave as good as he got

KURT SORENSEN - Kurt made almost 130 NRL appearances for the Sharks and more than 250 for Widnes

HUGH MCGAHAN - Alongside Mark Graham, McGahan was the class of any Australian or English back-rower of the era

MARK BROADHURST - Hardman Broadhurst carried on the fine tradition of teak-tough Canterbury prop-forwards, carving out an impressive career

COOPER CRONK - During his 16 year career, Cronk won four NRL Premierships from nine NRL Grand Final appearances

TERRY LAMB - Lamb was known for his support of the ball-carrier - his ability to be in the right place at the right time netted him 164 tries

GAVIN MILLER - At his peak, Miller was regarded as the most dangerous attacking forward in the NSWRL, largely due to his ball playing and kicking skills

GLEN LAZARUS - The “Brick With Eyes” had a distinguished and successful career with the Raiders, Broncos and Storm

GEORGE TREWEEK - Treweek worked as a butcher which meant 4am starts and on match days before gathering his gear and heading off to the game

HARRY WELLS - In the latter part of his career, Wells formed a great centre partnership with the young Reg Gasnier and they paired together in 12 Tests

SHANE WEBCKE - His position was prop forward and at his peak he was renowned as the best front rower in the world alongside Glenn Lazarus

PAUL GALLEN - Grub Gallen captained the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to their first Grand Final win in 2016

DAVE BROWN - A point scoring wizard, Brown in his distinctive headgear was said to be one of the most admired sights in the game during the 1930s

JOHNNY KING - King played 191 games for the Dragons between 1960 and 1971 scoring 143 tries – a club record at the time

DESMOND WHITE - Des White’s attributes as a safe custodian and a fine attacking fullback tended to be overshadowed by his goalkicking prowess

BRETT MORRIS - One of the game’s finest finishers, BMoz was a try-scoring machine who ended his career playing at the Roosters alongside his twin, Josh

ARTHUR HALLOWAY - ‘Pony' Halloway was a pioneering Australian rugby league footballer among the first wave of 1908 Wallaby defectors

CHRIS MCKIVAT - McKivat is unique in Australian rugby history as the only man to captain both the national rugby union and rugby league teams

HARRY BATH - "The Old Fox", was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century

CEC BLINKHORN - With Harold Horder, Blinkhorn formed one of the finest wing combinations the game has ever seen

GARY FREEMAN - The Whiz was arguably one of New Zealand's greatest Test halfbacks and at the time of his retirement he was the most-capped New Zealand test player

NATHAN CLEARY - Cleary led the Penrith Panthers to five consecutive grand final appearances, including four premiership wins from 2021 to 2024

ALLAN LANGER - Alfie was one of the pre-eminent halfbacks of his era, representing Australia on many occasions and holding the record for most State of Origin appearances

VIC HEY - Nicknamed "The Human Bullet", Hey was an Australian national and state representative five-eighth and later a successful first-grade and national coach

KEVIN IRO - Iro played for eight clubs in total; Glen Innes Falcons, Mount Albert Lions, Wigan, Manly Sea Eagles, Leeds, Hunter Mariners, Auckland Warriors and St Helens

STEVE MENZIES - Commonly referred by his nickname, “Beaver” Menzies has played 520 first grade, state of origin and test games, scoring 251 tries

TOMMY RAUDONIKIS - Tommy entered State of Origin folklore when he introduced the "cattle dog" call to which NSW players responded by breaking from the scrum with fists flying

MARK GRAHAM - A star back-rower and former captain of the New Zealand national league team, Graham was been named as the greatest player the country has produced in the century from 1907 to 2006

STEVE WALTERS - Walters played in the 1980s and 1990s along with his four brothers, and at the peak of his career was considered the best hooker in the game

STEVE ROACH - In the 1989 club season, Blocker's combination with Paul Sironen, Benny Elias and Wayne Pearce was one of the strongest packs in club rugby league history

STEVE ROGERS - Rogers led Cronulla to the grand final as captain, in 1978, once more against the Sea Eagles

SIMON MANNERING - With 301 appearances for the New Zealand Warriors, Mannering is the club's most capped player

BENNY WEARING - Benny Wearing was one of the superstars of rugby league for many years, in fact for 50 years he held the record for the most games played for Souths

ARTIE BEETSON - Considered the godfather of State of Origin, his fondness of a meat pie is almost as legendary as his deeds with football in hand

WALLY LEWIS - The Emperor of Lang Park is remembered for his creative, playmaking football and great on-field confrontations, most notably one in the 1991 State of Origin series with Mark Geyer

RON COOTE - He was famous for his outstanding cover defence and low, "round-the-legs" tackling technique, bestowed the name "Prince of Locks"

ANDREW JOHNS - Joey Johns rose from his hometown of Cessnock to become one of the most influential rugby league players in history, anointed the 8th ‘Immortal’ in 2012

BRAD FITTLER - Fittler retired as the second most experienced first grader, behind Terry Lamb, having played 336 games

MAL MENINGA - Big Mal broke numerous rugby league records during his playing career. He retired with the most appearances in the history for the Kangaroos, and became the top-point scorer ever in State of Origin football

JOHNATHAN THURSTON - J.T became the first man to win four Dally M medals, culminating with his Grand Final triumph for the North Queensland Cowboys in 2015

BOBBY FULTON - Bob Fulton, nicknamed “Bozo” was named alongside Gasnier, Raper and Churchill as one of rugby league’s four original ‘Immortals’ in 1981

REG GASNIER - Decades after his retirement, the name 'Gasnier' still inspires memories of one of the greatest players the game has ever produced

DARREN LOCKYER - Lockyer switched positions to five-eighth in 2004 and went on to win four grand finals with the Broncos, five State of Origin series with Queensland, and two Golden Boot Awards

RICKY STUART - At club level, Stuart was the half-back of the "Green Machine", the formidable Canberra Raiders team who won three premierships in 1989, 1990 and 1994

CAMERON SMITH - Smith captained Queensland to their 10th series win in 11 years over NSW and became the first NRL player to play 400 games

BILLY SLATER - Widely regarded as the greatest fullback of all time, Slater was known for his incredible vision, game reading, and try-scoring feats

GREG INGLIS - Greg Inglis burst onto the scene as a skinny teenager with the Storm in 2005 and retired from the NRL in 2019 as a legend

NORM PROVEN - Nicknamed "Sticks", Provan was a second-row forward with the St. George Dragons during the first ten of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning years

JOHN RAPER - He swiftly became an integral and indispensable member of the St George team, which achieved an unprecedented feat by securing 11 premiership trophies from 1956 to 1966

BRADLEY CLYDE - At the peak of his playing career, Brad Clyde was widely acknowledged as the best lock in the game

RUBEN WIKI - Wiki’s career in rugby league was one of enduring success and excellence, beginning with the Canberra Raiders in 1993 and ending with the NZ Warriors fifteen years later

STACEY JONES - The little General was a foundation member of the New Zealand Warriors in 1995 and became the club’s first player to be awarded life membership

BENJI MARSHALL - Benji famously set up a 90-metre try to Pat Richards, which was considered to be one of the best tries in grand final history

FRANK BURGE - At 93 kilograms and equally effective anywhere in the forwards from lock to prop, Burge had the speed of a back to complement his strength

KERRY BOUSTEAD - A prolific try-scorer, Boustead made his rep debut at 18 and is remembered as Queensland's first ever State of Origin try scorer in 1980

LAURIE DALEY - Loz played for the Canberra Raiders during their most successful period in the 1990s and experienced a successful Origin career

SHAUN JOHNSON - Johnson is regarded as one of New Zealand’s greatest rugby league players, and is the highest point scorer for both the Warriors and the New Zealand Kiwis

BOB McCARTHY - The advent of the four tackle rule in 1967 was tailor-made for the athletic, barrel-chested McCarthy and his coach Clive Churchill gave him license to attack wide

GENE MILES - There have been few greater sights on the playing field than Miles in full stride, holding off a would-be tackler and throwing his virtually patented one-handed pass

WAYNE PEARCE - No Australian rugby league player had a greater influence on fitness in the era than Balmain lock forward Junior Pearce

PETER STERLING - Sterlo was one of the all-time great halfbacks and a major contributor to Parramatta Eels' dominance of the NSW Rugby League premiership in the 1980s

GORDON TALLIS - Tallis’ famous tackle on Blues fullback, Brett Hodgson, dragging him several metres and eventually tossing him out of the field of play like a rag-doll is QLD folklore

SAM BURGESS - Despite suffering a broken cheekbone in the first tackle of the game, Burgess continued to play on, with his Rabbitohs team winning the 2014 Grand Final

BENNY ELIAS - Despite being diminutive in size compared to many of his opponents, Elias was a tough and aggressive player, and appeared to welcome physical confrontations

COREY PARKER - Parker scored 1,218 points to become the greatest point-scorer in Broncos history and the third-most prolific point-scoring forward ever

GARRY JACK - Aggressive, fast and safe under pressure, Jack was seen at his best running the ball back strongly and breaking the first line of defence

JESSE BROMWICH - His tally of 338 NRL matches ranked ninth in premiership history and behind only Benji Marshall (346) among Kiwi’s

KEN IRVINE - In the 117-year history of Australian rugby league, only one individual has achieved the remarkable feat of accumulating over 200 tries

JOHN SATTLER - Known as "Satts", he was one of the hardmen of Australian rugby league and was regarded as an aggressive on field player, but a softly spoken gentleman off the field

SANDY PEARCE - Known as, the "Prince of hookers", Pearce played his whole career of 157 matches for the Eastern Suburbs club between 1908 and 1921

STEVE MORTIMER - During Mortimer's final five seasons at Canterbury-Bankstown, he formed a great halves combination with the master of support play in Terry Lamb

GRAEME LANGLANDS - Langlands was the fullback and goal-kicker for the St. George Dragons in the latter half of their 11-year consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966

GREG ALEXANDER - Brandy played with the Panthers for the several years and become known for his unique ability to score and set up tries

HAROLD HORDER - When rugby league was in its infancy in Australia, there were only a few players with the ability to set the crowd alight every time they touched the ball

JIMMY CRAIG - Craig was a player of unparalleled versatility. It is known that he represented in Tests at fullback, centre, halfback and hooker

MICHAEL CRONIN - Cronin proved State passion would take priority over club friendships and loyalties in 1980

DALE SHEARER - Known by the nickname of "Rowdy", Shearer was a proud Queenslander who suffered both tragedy and triumph in his life

RAY PRICE - He was nicknamed “Mr Perpetual Motion” for his hard, intimidating style of play in league at lock forward

ANDREW ETTINGHAUSEN - Rivalled only by Steve Rogers, Andrew Ettingshausen stands as one of the great centres to play for the Sharks

CHARLES "CHOOK" FRASER - In only his second year in first grade with just 15 games to his credit and still aged 18, Fraser was selected for the 1911–12 Kangaroo Tour of England

ERIC GROTHE SNR - Grothe's size, speed and trademark ability to break a tackle through sheer strength enabled him to perfectly book-end Parramatta's star studded backline

BRETT KENNY - Kenny holds the record feat of being the only player to have scored two tries in three (consecutive) grand finals, from 1981 to 1983

VIV THICKNESSE - By the time he retired in 1937, Thicknesse had built a reputation for scrum-half play that has probably never been matched in his club's history

CLIFF LYONS - Cliffy was notable for his elusive cross-field runs, creating doubt in the minds of defenders and setting up gaps for support players