Reg Gasnier and Mal Meninga have been named the Centres for the Rugby League Team of the Century.

The final centre nominations included:  Jack Beaton, Dave Brown, Michael Cronin, Les Cubitt, Andrew Ettingshausen, Viv Farnsworth, Bob Fulton, Reg Gasnier, Herb Gilbert, Tom Gorman, Graeme Langlands, Mal Meninga, Dally Messenger, Gene Miles, Steve Rogers, Harry Wells.

Notes on the Centres of the Century

Reg GASNIER

Club: St George 1959–67
Club landmarks: Won Premierships with St George 1959–66; Scored 127 tries in 125 games for St George
Games for NSW: 21 (1959–67); Tests for Australia: 36 (1959–67) — eight as captain; World Cup matches: Three (1960)
Representative landmarks: Kangaroo tours 1959–60, 1963–64, 1967–68 (as captain); World Cup 1960; Australian tours of New Zealand 1961, 1965.

‘Puff The Magic Dragon’ scored 219 tries in 223 first-class games. He remains Australia’s youngest captain against Great Britain (23 years, 28 days, in the first Test of 1962), was a three-time Kangaroo, and a member of eight premiership-winning sides with St George. He retired aged just 28, due to a broken leg, after captaining Australia on the 1967-68 Kangaroo tour.

Mal MENINGA

Clubs: Souths Brisbane 1979–85; St Helens 1984–85; Canberra 1986–94
Club landmarks: Won Brisbane premierships with Souths 1981, 1985; Captained Canberra to premiership wins 1989–90, 1994
Games for Qld: 42 (1979–84; includes 32 State of Origins 1980–94)
Tests for Australia: 45 (1982–94) — 23 as captain
World Cup matches: One (captain)
Representative landmarks: Kangaroo tours 1982, 1986, 1990 (captain), 1994 (captain).

A State of Origin pioneer, Mal Meninga is the only player to have toured four times with the Kangaroos and the only player to make two tours as captain. His endless list of achievements is testimony to the strength and perseverance displayed over a magnificent 16-year career.

As well as overcoming anyone who dared stand between him and the try-line, the giant centre had to overcome the pain and frustration of four broken arms on the way to spearheading Canberra to its first Premiership and a place as one of the finest attacking teams of the modern era.