The greatest gathering of legendary players in the game’s 100-year history will occur at the Royal Hall of Industries in Sydney tonight to witness the naming of the Team of the Century at the Centenary of Rugby League Ball.

The night will open with a formal tribute to the ‘100 Greatest Players’ of Rugby League’s first Century with all but five of the 100 represented either in person or through their descendents.

Names like Gasnier, Grothe, Boustead, Bath, Fittler, Fulton, Webcke and Walsh will be there along with the only current player in the top 100, Darren Lockyer.

Dally Messenger will be represented by his grand nephew Dally Messenger III while Jeanette Lane, daughter of the legendary Brian Bevan, has flown from England to help honour the great winger’s place in history.

Sid Pearce has flown to represent his father Sid ‘Joe’ Pearce, the Roosters second-rower of 1929-42, while his grandfather Sid ‘Sandy’Pearce, a 1908-09 and 1921-22 Kangaroo, will also be represented.

A team of 17 players (a 13-man starting line-up and a four-man bench) plus a coach of the century will be announced during the night and each member will stand as giants of the game’s celebrations.

A 28-man judging panel chose the Team of the Century by secret ballot in December 2007 with the votes not tabulated until after the event by an independent accounting firm.

The careers of each of the top 100 players was detailed as the panel spent hours discussing each position before casting their votes (biographies, photographs and video of the One Hundred Greatest players can be found at the official Centenary website www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au).

The panel was: Ferris Ashton, Frank Stanton, Cyril Connell, John Hayes, John McDonald, Chris Anderson, Greg Alexander, Mark Coyne, Ron Massey, Ian Heads, David Middleton, Sean Fagan, Geoff Armstrong, Ken Arthurson, John Quayle, Geoff Carr, Ray Chesterton, Roy Masters, Steve Ricketts, Gary Lester, Alan Clarkson, John McCoy, David Morrow, Kevin Brasch, Russell Fairfax, Warren Kimberley and Max Howell with David Gallop as the non-voting Chairman.

Tonight’s announcement is the off field highlight of Rugby League’s Heritage Round which on Sunday will celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the first Premiership games in 1908.

Teams have been paired as closely as possible to the eras in which they entered the competition and each will play in an official heritage strip.