The collection was started in the late 1970s by Penrith Panthers captain and British test hooker Mike Stephenson, and used to tour country towns in NSW and Qld.

When Stevo decided to return to his native England, he offered the collection to the Australian Rugby League. Incredibly, members of the ARL hierarchy told him they weren’t interested.

He then housed it for years in the historic George Hotel in Huddersfield, the venue for the meeting which sparked the sport’s breakaway from rugby union in 1895.

When the hotel was sold in 2013, sporting charity Rugby League Cares was given £97,200 ($A165,000) from the Heritage Lottery Fund to secure the collection, which was put in storage until a new location could be found.

Last week, it was announced the new National Rugby League Museum will be based in the architecturally-renowned Bradford City Hall in West Yorkshire. The city is home to the Bradford Bulls and the site, in 1954, of what was then the largest rugby league crowd in history - 102,575.

The museum will be officially opened in 2020 to mark the 125th anniversary of the code’s formation. Meanwhile, fans going to England to watch Australia play in this year’s Four Nations Tournament can still make a pilgrimage to some wonderful statues of famous footy players.

All are legends in Britain, and household names Down Under. There are the five outside Wembley Stadium in the north of London – Martin Offiah, Eric Ashton, Billy Boston, Alex Murphy and Gus Risman – all of whom toured Australia with various Lions sides. Winger Offiah also had stints with Sydney Roosters (1989 and 1993) and St George Dragons (1991).

In northern England, outside Warrington’s home ground Halliwell Stadium, is an impressive statue of the greatest try scorer in the game’s history - Brian Bevan. The “Boy from Bondi” started with the Roosters, but made his name in the Lancashire city. The statue was originally in the middle of nearby roundabout, but too many fans risked life and limb so the local council moved it. 

Recently unveiled is the new kid on the block, a stunning statue of Billy Boston in full flight, dominating Believe Square in nearby Wigan. The Cardiff-born Boston was the sport’s second greatest try scorer and was synonymous with Wigan. When asked last month if the honour showed how much he meant to Wigan, the now 82-year-old replied: “What I mean to Wigan? It’s what Wigan means to me – it’s been brilliant”.