Bill Harrigan (born 24 May 1960 in Sydney,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
) is an Australian former
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
football
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other tit ...
, and former head of refereeing for the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
. Unusually for a sports official, in his long career he was accorded the same profile as some of the top players he refereed.
A policeman off-field before he resigned to concentrate on rugby league,
he is widely recognised as one of Australia's greatest sports umpires.
He retired with the record for most
State of Origin matches officiated.
Early life
William James "Bill" Harrigan was born in 1960 in the Western Suburbs of Sydney,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
He resided in the
south-west and
greater western suburbs of Sydney for all of his childhood. While not particularly interested in academic studies as school student, he nevertheless represented his schools with distinction in every sport that he could. He attended
Fairvale High School before graduating in 1977.
Harrigan joined the
NSW Police Force in 1979.
He served extensively in numerous units, including the
Tactical Response Group.
Rugby League career
Harrigan refereed his first game in 1977. In 1986 he refereed his first
New South Wales Rugby League premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...
match, between
Cronulla and
Western Suburbs.
Harrigan holds the following Australian rugby league refereeing records
*393
first grade
First grade (also called Grade One, called '' Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade.
Examples ...
games,
*21
State of Origin games,
*25
Test matches, and
*10
Grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
s (1989–1991,1997–2003)
Defamation action
In July 2001 Harrigan successfully sued Australian radio broadcaster
Alan Jones for defamatory remarks made by Jones during a 1998 interview, resulting in an award of $90,000.
Alan Jones Chronology
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ''Four Corners''. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
Post-retirement
After retiring from rugby league refereeing, Harrigan was a referee in '' Gladiators''.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
Image from the collection of the National Museum of Australia – Harrigan sends off Gorden Tallis during the 2000 "State of Origin" series
*https://web.archive.org/web/20090106141703/http://www.billharrigan.com.au/Referee-career-pg2853.html
*http://www.mediaman.com.au/profiles/harrigan.html
*http://www.claxtonspeakers.com.au/speakers_profile/134
*http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411317/453852
*https://web.archive.org/web/20071014012924/http://gallery.atwone.com/1023.html
*http://www.seniorlink.co.nz/llbooks/?cont_id=82
*https://web.archive.org/web/20050617172518/http://www.ovations.com.au/news/november.htm
*http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/30/1064819935828.html
Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrigan, Bill
1960 births
Australian police officers
Living people
National Rugby League referees
Rugby league players from Sydney
Australian rugby league referees
Rugby League World Cup referees