True Blues Ben Elias, Andrew Ettingshausen and Paul Gallen have tonight been inducted into the NSWRL The Star Hall of Fame in front of almost 450 guests at The Star Event Centre in Pyrmont.
The glittering event was attended by Westpac NSW Blues coach Laurie Daley and the Westpac NSW Blues, Westpac NSW Blues Women’s coach John Strange and Westpac NSW Blues Women who last week won the Ampol Women’s State of Origin series, NSWRL Chief Executive David Trodden, NSWRL Chair Carolyn Campbell, the NSWRL Board, and a host of True Blue players.
“The True Blues dinner is an important event for the NSWRL as it provides us with an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the valuable contribution that players have made for NSW in interstate matches and the State of Origin arena,” NSWRL Chief Executive David Trodden said.
“It is always heartening to see players of different generations having a chance to catch up with each other and share memories and swap stories about their time in the sky blue jumper.
“We also had an opportunity to acknowledge the performance of our Westpac NSW Blues Women, who are 2-0 up in the series and have already secured the Shield for 2025, as well as welcome the Westpac NSW Blues team who have been selected for Game One of the Ampol State of Origin series.
“We welcomed three new additions to The NSWRL The Star Hall of Fame, Ben Elias, Andrew Ettingshausen and Paul Gallen, who all served their state with distinction and thoroughly deserve to take their place alongside the other champions of our state.”
Elias was a creative and brilliant hooker who changed the notion of the No.9 role in the 1980s. He played 19 Origin games for NSW and was a key performer in the Blues’ maiden series success in 1985, one of five series victories he featured in over the course of a decade.
Ettingshausen was one of the game’s most prolific try-scoring centres, crossing the line 166 times across 18 seasons for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. He became a fixture in representative line-ups for NSW and Australia, making 27 Origin appearances for the Blues and featuring in five series victories.
Gallen won respect for his fearless style as an enforcer of the Blues pack in a State of Origin career that spanned 24 games across 11 seasons. He collected the Brad Fittler Medal for the Blues’ Player of the Series in 2011, won the Wally Lewis Medal as Player of the Series in 2014 after helping end Queensland’s eight-year winning streak.
The NSWRL The Star Hall of Fame includes the 11 Immortals and 23 other players who have represented their state with distinction.
The qualification for the NSWRL The Star Hall of Fame is:
a) The player must have played 10 games or more for NSW; or, alternatively, the player must have captained NSW; and
b) The player must have also played for Australia: and
c) The player must also have been retired for at least five seasons.
2025 TRUE BLUES INDUCTEES
Ben Elias
Year inducted: 2025
True Blue number: 791
Origin number: 67
Born: 15 September, 1963, Tripoli, Lebanon
Club: Balmain Tigers
Position: Hooker
Premiership Career: (1982-94) 235 games, 36 tries, 4 goals, 33 field goals
First Grade debut: Balmain Tigers v Illawarra Steelers at Wollongong Showground, Wollongong on 23 May, 1982
Representative honours: Australia 6 Tests (1985, 88, 90); NSW 19 State of Origins (1984-86, 88, 1990-91)
Other honours: NRL Hall of Fame 2024
Benny Elias changed the notion of the hooking role in the 1980s with his creativity and brilliance at the play-the-ball. Emerging as an elite performer at schoolboy level, Elias quickly transferred his talents to first grade and was a prominent figure in the Balmain Tigers’ rise as a premiership force.
Representative recognition followed and he played the first of 19 State of Origin games for New South Wales at the age of 21 in 1985. He was a key performer in the Blues’ maiden series success that year, one of five series victories he featured in over the course of a decade.
Elias won three Origin Player of the Match Awards and was Player of the Series in 1990. He captained the Blues six times, including the 1990 triumph and played one of his finest hands in the series decider at Suncorp Stadium in his final Origin game in 1994.
Despite fierce competition for the hooking position at Test level, Elias produced several decisive performances for Australia, including their 1985 series win over New Zealand, victory in the World Cup final in 1988 and a memorable Ashes triumph over Great Britain in 1990.
Andrew Ettingshausen
Year inducted: 2025
True Blue number: 799
Origin number: 75
Born: 29 October, 1965, Coogee, Sydney
Club: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Position: Centre
Premiership Career: (1983-00) 328 games, 165 tries, 1 goal
First Grade debut: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v Newtown Jets at Orana Park, Campbelltown, on 27 March, 1983
Representative honours: Australia 25 Tests (1988, 1990-94); NSW 27 State of Origins (1987-94, 96, 98)
At club level, Andrew Ettingshausen was one of the game’s most prolific try scorers, crossing the line 166 times across 18 seasons for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Known for his speed and anticipation, Ettingshausen played the bulk of his 328 club games as a centre, where he formed a dynamic partnership with fellow international Mark McGaw.
Ettingshausen became a fixture in representative line-ups for New South Wales and Australia, where his versatility proved an important asset. In 27 Origin appearances for the Blues, he played significant roles at fullback, wing and centre and featured in five series victories.
A crowd favourite popularly known as ‘ET’, Ettingshausen followed Wayne Pearce as the face of the game in the early 1990s and won an army of admirers with his good looks and healthy lifestyle. Ettingshausen toured twice with the Kangaroos and played 25 Tests for Australia.
He captained the Sharks from 1995-2000, was twice named the club’s Player of the Year and was honoured in 2000 when the western grandstand at Shark Park was named after him.
Paul Gallen
Year inducted: 2025
True Blue number: 923
Origin number: 199
Born: 14 August, 1981, Sydney
Club: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Position: Lock
Premiership Career: (2001-19) 348 games, 63 tries, 2 goals
First Grade debut: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v Parramatta Eels at Toyota Park, Sydney, on 3 June, 2001
Representative honours: Australia 32 Tests (2008-14, 16) NSW 24 State of Origin appearances (2006-16)
Other honours: Brad Fittler Medal 2011, Wally Lewis Medal 2014
Paul Gallen won respect for his fearless style as an enforcer of the Blues pack in a State of Origin career that spanned 24 games across 11 seasons. His career coincided with the rise of a dominant Queensland outfit, but Gallen refused to take a backward step, an approach typified by his confrontation with Maroons opposite Nate Myles in the opening game of the 2013 series which has become part of Origin folklore.
Gallen played as a middle forward, whether he took the field as a front-rower, or in the number 13 jersey and it was not uncommon for the Cronulla workhorse to soldier through 80 minutes without relief. He collected the Brad Fittler Medal for the Blues’ Player of the Series in 2011.
His persistence in the face of the Maroons’ eight years of dominance was rewarded in 2014 when he led the Blues to a breakthrough series win in Sydney and he was later named winner of the Wally Lewis Medal as Player of the Series. Gallen surpassed Danny Buderus’ record as the Blues’ longest-serving Origin captain in 2016, the same year that he led Cronulla to its maiden premiership success after a nail-biting Grand Final win over the Melbourne Storm.
All bios courtesy of David Middleton
