'They'll deserve it' - 13th Immortal Mal Meninga speaks out following announcement of 14th immortal 05:08

But anyway, the 13th immortal, Mal Meninga, he joins me on the line. Mal, g'day. Hey, Chris. How are you? Sorry. Oh, God, you're trying to create some controversy here, mate. No, there's always controversy, isn't there? Yeah, it's just never a dull day, is there? No. And look, I don't want to harp on it because it is important for whoever wins tonight for that to be important to them and their families. But, you know, I just thought the process could have been run a bit better.

That's probably the only disappointing about tonight. It's a great night for Ruggedaligi overall. Obviously, all the Hall of Famers have been and the contributors you mentioned, the referees and the coaches are all being inducted. Yes, there's a 14th immortal. The living immortals were a little bit disappointed that we weren't in the loop, but it is what it is and we can't.

keep on complaining about it. We've just got to move on and, you know, and I mean, whoever's going to get the 14th of March is going to deserve it, there's no doubt. 100%. 100%. And Ron Coote, of course, Cameron Smith, Brett Kenny, Peter Sterling, Billy Slater, all names that have... Darren Lockyer, all names that have...

being thrown. All of them deserved of the title. What's your view on it all, Mel? Well, it's a tough decision. Even if us Immortals are sitting on the panel and we're making judgments on players or ex-players' careers, aren't we? It's very subjective to our opinions and what

And, you know, who we watched and who were our favourites and who we thought was, you know, a special player above... And more or less above, you know, the rest, I guess, you know, when you talk about the statues, the statue of it all. So, yeah, I mean...

It's just about the process that dumbfound us a little bit. But like I said before, we just move on and just feel that it's going to be a special night for whoever gets inducted. Well, you can tell us. When you were inducted, how big a deal was it for you and the Meninga family?

Well, totally come as a surprise. That's being really honest with you. I didn't feel that I was deserving. I didn't feel that it was warranted, but it was a great honour. There's no doubt, great privilege. It took me a while to sort of think about it. It took me a few days to sort of all sink in. And my conclusion, Chris, is that I think it's a

an award or an honour or a privilege that supports the family, my mum and dad, everyone that supported me through my playing days, everyone that supports me today. I just feel that it's just a testament of that and it's an appreciation that you can't get any better. The mortal is the best thing that can happen to you in rugby league in my opinion.

It's just so hard to pick, isn't it? Like, so hard. Yeah. Yeah, it is. Like I said, it's very subjective, you know, to whoever's making those decisions. It's a tough decision. You're always going to get...

Well, maybe not criticism, I don't think. I think the 14th immortal will be someone special. But there's always going to be different opinions, isn't there? And there's going to be opinions around, well, if it's a current-day player who gets it, should it go back to the players from the 70s and the 80s first? We always have these debates when these things come around. So...

maybe it's the reason why the National Womens League didn't tell anyone it was being voted on. Yeah, sure. Because it would have been a lot more controversy over a longer period of time. But it's kind of part of the point is to have a broad discussion across the game over who's deserved it. Everyone has a different opinion. It's

you know, no knock, they're all outstanding footballers. In your mind, do you think that, say, someone like Ron Coote, if he is appointed or inducted the 14th immortal, does that then put a full stop on that generation and you move to the next? Or are you happy to see it sort of be a little bit more ad hoc? Oh, I think it should be ad hoc. You know, one of the beauties of 2018, because we had no idea what was going on, and all of a sudden they

They voted in or, you know, honoured three ex-players, you know, prior to 1953, which I thought was fantastic. You know, so they went back and celebrated its history, which is great, and then two afterwards, you know. So I think there's always flexibility in this process.

in this program, really. You know, I just feel that, you know, you weigh it all up. You have a look at everyone's records. You look at their success. And then, you know, whoever stands out,

the most in that particular vote, well, they deservely gets the honour. It could be, I don't know, maybe they're talking about the 14th, but, you know, last time they were talking about the 9th and end up 13, you know, so we're not quite sure what's going to happen tonight. Mal, I really appreciate you coming on and all the best for this evening. Thanks, Wes. Thanks, mate. That's Mal Meninger, of course.