The Queensland Rugby League Team of the Century is a hypothetical team comprising the best players who have played for Queensland to form a team for 1909 until 2008. Rugby league in Queensland was initiated in 1909 with the Queensland Rugby Football League competition, which evolved into the Brisbane Rugby Football League in 1922. In 1988, a national competition encompassing all Australian states including Queensland meant that the Brisbane Rugby Football League competition became a second tier to the national competition. Today, three Queensland clubs participate in the national competition while two formerly did so.
The team was announced at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 10 June 2008, ahead of the second State of Origin game in Brisbane.[1] The players eligible for the team are players originally from Queensland and even though some players went to New South Wales and played for them under residential selection rules, these players could be chosen under their place of origin. The team was picked by a team of six judges in 2008 from a list of 100 nominated players.[2] The judges were former administrator Kevin Brasch, former Queensland halfback Cyril Connell, writer Ian Heads, historian Professor Max Howell, commentator John McCoy and historian Greg Shannon.[3]
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| No. | Name | Position | Clubs | Queensland | Australia | Source | ||
| 1. | Darren Lockyer | born 24 March 1977 | Brisbane Broncos | 31 matches (1997–2009) 29 State of Origin matches 2 Super League matches | 50 matches (1997–2009) 37 Test matches 9 World Cup matches 4 Super League matches | [4] [5] | ||
| 2. | Cecil Aynsley | born 1902 died 1975 | Brisbane Wests Starlights, Ipswich Rochdale Hornets, England | 34 matches (1922–1930) 34 regular matches | 4 matches (1924–1928) 4 Test matches | [6] [7] | ||
| 3. | Tom Gorman | born 1 June 1901 died 22 June 1978 | Toowoomba Past Christian Brothers Brisbane Christian Brothers Brisbane Past Christian Brothers | 43 matches (1920–1930) 43 regular matches | 32 matches (1924–1930) 10 Test matches 22 Tour matches | [8] [9] | ||
| 4. | Mal Meninga | born 8 July 1960 | Brisbane Souths Canberra Raiders | 43 matches (1979–1994) 32 State of Origin matches 11 regular games | 46 matches (1982–1994) 33 Test matches 13 World Cup matches | [10] [11] | ||
| 5. | Denis Flannery | born 2 April 1928 died 12 February 2012 | Ipswich Brothers | 27 matches (1948–1956) 27 regular matches | 45 matches (1950–1957) 13 Test matches 2 World Cup matches 30 Tour matches | [12] [13] | ||
| 6. | Wally Lewis (c) | born 1 December 1959 | Fortitude Valley Wynnum-Manly Brisbane Broncos Gold Coast | 40 matches 31 State of Origin matches 9 regular games | 35 matches 25 Test matches 9 World Cup matches 1 regular match | [14] | ||
| 7. | Allan Langer | born 30 July 1966 | Ipswich Jets Brisbane Broncos | 38 matches (1987–2002) 34 State of Origin matches 3 Super League match 1 regular match | 26 matches (1988–1999) 17 Test matches 7 World Cup matches 1 Super League match 1 regular match | [15] | ||
| 8. | Duncan Hall | born 24 August 1925 died 18 January 2011 | Brisbane Valleys Toowoomba Brothers Home Hill Brisbane Wests | 24 matches (1948–1955) 24 regular matches | 69 matches (1948–1955) 22 Test matches 1 World Cup match 46 Tour matches | [16] [17] | ||
| 9. | Noel Kelly | born 22 January 1936 died 14 June 2020 | Ipswich Brothers Ayr Sydney Wests Wollongong | 7 matches 7 regular matches | 81 matches 25 Test matches 3 World Cup matches 53 Tour matches | [18] | ||
| 10. | Peter Madsen | born 16 September 1901 died 2 February 1979 | Toowoomba Valleys Toowoomba Brothers Stanthorpe | 41 matches (1928–1937) 41 regular matches | 51 matches (1929–1936) 9 Test matches 42 Tour matches | |||
| 11. | Arthur Beetson | born 22 January 1945 died 1 December 2011 | Redcliffe Balmain Sydney Easts Parramatta | 3 matches (1980–1981) 1 State of Origin match 2 regular matches | 28 matches (1966–1977) 14 Test matches 14 World Cup matches | [19] [20] | ||
| 12. | Brian Davies | born 16 May 1930 died 14 November 2012 | Brisbane Brothers Canterbury-Bankstown St. George | 38 matches (1950–1958) 38 regular matches | 33 matches (1951–1958) 33 Test matches 6 World Cup matches | [21] [22] | ||
| 13. | Bob Lindner | born 10 November 1962 | Brisbane Souths Wynnum-Manly Castleford, England Parramatta Eels Gold Coast Western Suburbs Magpies Illawarra Steelers Oldham, England | 27 matches (1983–1993) 25 State of Origin matches 2 regular matches | 24 matches (1986–1993) 15 Test matches 9 World Cup matches | [23] | ||
| 14. | Jimmy Craig | born 1895 died 1959 | Reserve | Balmain Sydney University Ipswich Starlights Sydney Wests | 33 matches (1923–1928) 33 regular matches | 7 matches (1921–1928) 7 Test matches | [24] [25] | |
| 15. | Duncan Thompson | born 14 March 1895 died 27 May 1980 | Reserve | Ipswich St. Pauls North Sydney Toowoomba Valleys | 17 matches 17 regular matches | 35 matches 9 Test matches 26 Tour matches | [26] [27] | |
| 16. | Gene Miles | born 21 July 1959 | Reserve | South Townsville Wynnum-Manly Brisbane Broncos | 27 matches (1982–1989) 20 State of Origin matches 7 regular matches | 14 matches (1983–1988) 10 Test matches 4 World Cup matches | ||
| 17. | Herb Steinohrt | born 21 October 1899 died 27 December 1985 | Reserve | Warra Toowoomba Valleys | 51 matches (1924–1933) 51 regular matches | 9 matches (1928–1932) 9 Test matches | [28] [29] | |
| Coach | Wayne Bennett | born 1 January 1950 | Toowoomba All Whites Brisbane Souths Brisbane Brothers Canberra Raiders Brisbane Broncos St. George Illawarra Dragons Newcastle Knights Brisbane Broncos South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 matches (1986–2003) as coach 11 wins 1 draw 12 losses | 16 matches (1998–2005) as coach 12 wins 1 draw 3 losses[Redcliffe Dolphins] | |||
The position the player were chosen in the Team of the Century.
The Australian clubs/teams the player played for during his career.
The number of games he played at state level for Queensland during his career.
The number of games he played at national level for Australia during his career.
The Clubs, Queensland and Australia columns are in terms of his coaching career, not his playing career.