FORMER Bulls player Steve Menzies is one of six players to have been inducted into the National Rugby League Hall of Fame.

The others getting the nod, from a shortlist of 25 that were announced earlier in the year, are Ricky Stuart, Petero Civoniceva, Gorden Tallis, Cliff Lyons and Mark Graham.

To be eligible, players must have played in the premier rugby league competition in Australia and have been retired for at least five years.

Menzies, who scored 27 tries in 57 appearances for the Bulls in 2009-10, is fourth on the all-time list of most game played in the NRL.

'Beaver' won two premierships, and in 1995 helped Australia win the World Cup.

"One of the best ball-running forwards we've ever seen," said inductees' host Ben Ikin of NRL 360.

"No-one did it like Menzies. No-one played the back-row like Beaver.

"The way he poured himself into holes, he wasn't a classically tough defender, but he was very effective."

Menzies' former Manly Sea Eagles team-mate Cliff Lyons played 332 games, including six Origins and six Tests.

He also claimed two Dally M Medals, two premierships and a Clive Churchill medal.

"He's still playing touch football," said Paul Kent.

"His great talent was his sleight of hand – a bit like Johnathan Thurston today.

"They know what he's going to do, everybody saw ' here comes Cliffy, he's got Beaver outside him. Don't let him put Beaver through a hole,' and yet for some reason he mesmerised the defence."

Stuart played 243 games, won three premierships, one Dally M, one Clive Churchill Medal and played 14 Origins for New South Wales and nine Tests for Australia.

"I got quite a surprise when I got an e-mail to make me aware of it," he said.

"I was very humbled and felt very privileged to be in that category with a number of great football players.

"To be quite honest, I've always seen myself as one of those players to be involved with some of the game's greatest. "Names that will be remembered for a very long time – Stevie Walters, Mal Meninga, Laurie Daley and Brad Clyde.

"I was very fortunate to be able to play with players of that ability, and that was a great help to me."

One of the greatest forwards of the modern game, Civoniceva played 309 matches, won two premierships, played 33 Origins for Queensland and 51 Tests.

Tallis won three premierships and claimed a Clive Churchill Medal, while playing 17 Origins and 16 Tests.

Kiwis legend Graham played 146 games, including 29 Tests for New Zealand.

"He was a player in an era where the Bears were very unsuccessful, he was a standout" said Ikin.

"He had great presence, he was extremely fit and tough. He had the ability to read a game and sense that something needed to happen.

"He had this ability with two or three players hanging off him and would make something happen."

Other names on the shortlist included Stacey Jones, Ruben Wiki, Greg Alexander and Royce Simmons.