Danny Buderus has lauded his Hall of Fame selection as the greatest individual honour of his career after being inducted alongside six others on Wednesday night.
Ruben Wiki, Stacey Jones and Craig Young and contributors JJ Giltinan, Ray Warren and Peter Frilingos were honoured along with Buderus at the Carriageworks in Sydney.
The playing quartet logged 1063 first grade games between them and 145 Tests, claiming four premierships along the way.
Buderus is the last retiree of the four inductees, and was presented his jacket by Immortal Andrew Johns with whom he formed arguably the greatest hooker-halves combination of all time at Newcastle.
“From an individual point of view you can’t get much more,” Buderus said.
“No one sets out to make a hall of fame. It’s an award that comes along at the end of your career.
“Just walking in the room you straight away felt you were in a room of greatness. It’s an amazing feeling to know I am wearing a blazer like those blokes.”
Wiki is by far the most experienced, having developed from a rangy centre to powerful forward across his 311-game career.
One of the most revered Kiwi players of all time, his 55 Tests for New Zealand is still a record.
He also presented Stacey Jones with his hall of fame jacket on Wednesday night, as they became just the second and third Kiwis to be be inducted after Mark Graham.
“There are a lot of legends in the game from the days of Mark Graham. Olsen Filipaina, Clayton Friend and Hugh McGahan
“I reckon we can keep knocking on those doors and get a few more Kiwis in.”
The pair still remain heavily involved with the game as part of the Warriors’ coaching staff.
“It’s not until you turn up here and it happens is it real,” said Jones, a 261-game Warriors veteran.
An emotional Young was presented his jacket by son Dean, with the pair having both won titles with the Dragons.
Young Snr. claimed two, the first in his rookie season in 1977 before being a part of St George’s last title as a single entity in 1979.
“Dean wanted to do that … We’ve got a very tight-knit family,” Young said.
“It’s great, you think of how many players have played the game since 1908, it’s been a few at all grades and all levels.”
Meanwhile Giltinan, Frilingos and Warren were the first non-players to be inducted, with the latter having called more than 30 of the 113 members in commentary.
“You could tell from the room and recipients that it really means something to them,” Warren said.
“You tend to forget how good they were. Some of those clips of Stacey Jones and Ruben – unbelievable stuff.”