The Serve

Why the rush to make Andrew Johns an immortal?

Andrew Johns will be an immortal. That has not and will not be questioned. The rules state he needs to wait five years. Why those rules are in place is anyone’s guess. We are talking about a group which contains seven players from 100 years of rugby league in this nation. Basically one a generation. If we can’t decide whether a player is worthy of such a heady distinction the day after his last game, it is difficult to imagine how the fullness of time is going the change people’s perspective. It’s not as if Eion Crossian gave the game away as an ordinary player and was seen as a terrific asset five years later.

However the rules were put there and agreed upon by those seven people in this exclusive club. If they say no to an early induction, like Graeme Langlands has done today, then where is the argument?

In America, the respective Hall Of Fame’s are all consuming. Each year there’s fresh voting, which means fresh campaigning. It’s an epidemic. The minute a stellar player retires, his legacy is not to be decided until he goes up for voting. Is that what we want here? To need some sort of official recognition of one’s greatness? He’s going to be inducted, so what’s wrong with the wait? We know Johns is a legend. We know he cannot be replaced.

Isn’t that enough for now?