Leeds Rhinos and St Helens legends among four fresh Rugby League Hall of Fame inductees

Four rugby league icons have been welcomed into the Rugby League Hall of Fame, the RFL has announced.

Jamie Peacock, Paul Sculthorpe, Michelle Land and Jane Banks are all legends of the sport in their own right and have been chosen to be inducted into the Hall of Fame next month. They will officially take their place next month (October 22) at a celebration dinner hosted by Rugby League Cares at The Edge in Wigan.

A panel of representatives from across the sport are in charge of selecting those inducted, with former international players, coaches, members of the media, historians and administrators involved. In order to be eligible for the Hall of Fame, players must boast a record of outstanding achievement in the sport, hold a reputation that transcends the era they played in or have made a long-lasted contribution to the game.

It’s fair to say all four of the inductees have done that, with Peacock and Sculthorpe being considered legends of the Super League era. Both starred for Great Britain on the international stage and they have both won everything there is to win at club level, with Peacock representing Bradford Bulls, Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR, while Sculthorpe played for Warrington Wolves and St Helens.

Banks is a legend of the women’s game, having been capped 19 times by Great Britain during a career that straddled both the 1990s and the 2000s. She played for Wigan St Pats, Warrington Ladies, Hindley Pumas, Bradford Thunderbirds and Warrington.

Land played 16 times for her country and had the honour of co-captaining Great Britain in 2000, alongside Brenda Dobek, who is already in the Hall of Fame. She skippered Wakefield Panthers for 14 years during his career.

Collectively the quartet tick all of the above boxes in terms of entry requirements and they will take the number of players already in the Rugby League Hall of Fame to 41.

“On behalf of the whole sport, I would like to congratulate Jane, Michelle, Jamie and Paul on their very worthy induction into the RL Hall of Fame,” RFL chief executive Tony Sutton said.

“All four represented their clubs and their country with distinction throughout their playing careers and acted as inspirational role models to countless numbers of young players.

“It is a real privilege to be able to bestow this very special honour on four individuals who have made such important contributions to the history of our sport.”