The NRL have confirmed they will name another Immortal in August, and reports have already jumped to the conclusion that Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston are in the mix.

That comes with the NRL altering the rules, allowing players to be addmitted to the Hall of Fame just three years after their retirement.

There is little doubt that Smith and Thurston will be among the group of players added to the Hall of Fame at the ceremony, with a fair chance Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk will join them.

But the NRL simply can not admit any of those players as Immortals yet. The Immortals concept is supposed to recognise the greatest players in the history of the game, and while there is little doubt those players are going to be there one day, now would be too soon.

They were widely panned for adding Andrew Johns too early back in 2012, and can't afford to make the same mistake here, particularly given the number of other candidates who should be considered from previous generations, including one of Johns' great rivals.

Here are ten players the NRL should be considering for the next Immortal spot.

This story was originally published in July.

4. Brett Kenny

A four-time premiership winner with the Parramatta Eels, Brett Kenny was part of the golden generation for the club, playing 265 games between 1980 and 1993.

Often playing alongside the likes of Peter Sterling, Kenny could play five-eighth, centre or lock forward and played 17 matches for both the New South Wales Blues at the State of Origin level and Australia at the Test level.

He never captained his country, but toured with the Kangaroos twice, and took out the Golden Boot award in 1985, as well as being the man of the match in both the 1982 and 1983 grand finals.

He was named at number 27 in Rugby League Week's list of the top 100 players released in 1982, and was named in the NRL's team of the 1980s.