During this week in 2003, on July 30, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks inducted their first three Immortals at an emotional gala function held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney in front of 400 people.
The process of identifying those worthy of Immortal status commenced a month earlier when renowned rugby league writer and Cronulla Sharks historian Gary Lester nominated 40 players he believed were the most skilful, talented and influential in the club's history.
This list of 40 was circulated to fans through the Leader newspaper and 'Shark Attack' magazine and featured a who's who of those to have donned the black, white and blue.
The fan vote narrowed the list from 40 to 10 eligible recipients. Those 10 were featured on David Thomas' print titled 'Legends of the Cronulla Sharks' and contained British imports Tommy Bishop and Cliff Watson, former first-grade captains Steve Rogers, David Hatch, Gavin Miller and Greg Pierce, '80s icons Andrew Ettingshausen and Mark McGaw, dual international Mat Rogers and crowd favourite David Peachey.
The final three were chosen by a panel of experts that included Lester, Big League editor Neil Cadigan, Daily Telegraph senior writer Peter Frilingos and long-time club doctor Peter Malouf.
The three players, officially proclaimed the Sharks' best ever, were Ettingshausen, Miller and Steve Rogers.
Ettingshausen at the time was the most capped Shark, having played 328 first-grade games for the club between 1983 and 2000. The state and national representative was a popular choice among fans, his movie star looks an integral part of the game's revolution in the early '90s when the NSWRL were desperately seeking a more diverse supporter base. ET was a try-scoring machine in any side he played in, crossing the line a total of 174 times for the Sharks, 10 times for his state and 37 times for the Kangaroos.
Then-football club manager Rogers was the second player named. Rogers was arguably the best centre of his generation and a key member of the 1982 Kangaroos tour of Great Britain in a team dubbed the 'Invincibles'.
Rogers played 202 games for the Sharks in a career which saw him feature in two grand finals. To this day, the player nicknamed 'Sludge' holds the club's all time point-scoring record at 1253 points, a record unlikely to ever be beaten.
The final player selected, Miller, who played 180 games for the club, was perhaps the most popular choice amongst the crowd. The three-Test former Origin captain may not have played with the speed and guile of Ettingshausen and Rogers, but his deft ball-playing close to the line, quite often at the expense of his health, was second to none during a period that earnt the star multiple accolades both in Australia and abroad.
"It's a lifelong dream for me," Miller said. "To be recognised as one of the Immortals of the club is something I will cherish for the rest of my life."
The three players' names were featured in a newly established 'Immortals Walk', an initiative by the club to offer supporters the opportunity to purchase pavers and have messages inscribed that, for a period, featured on the pavement at the entry to the ground.
