Nelson 'Bill' Hardy (1905–1993) was an Australian

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 ...

footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. Hardy was playing first grade in the

NSWRFL 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 ...

for his side, the

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

club, at just 18 years of age. An accomplished or Hardy played 87 matches for Easts in the years 1925–30. In 1928, Hardy was a member of the Eastern Suburbs side that was defeated by South Sydney in that year's premiership decider. On 22 December 1928 Hardy took place in rugby league first night match, an exhibition match between that year's finalists Easts and Souths. Hardy played in three tests for the

Australia national rugby league team The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of Rugby league in Australia, the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Admin ...

in the 1928 season against a touring

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

side and was a representative of

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 ...

on 15 occasions throughout his career. Hardy played out his career in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with the

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

club. However, when he returned to Australia, he played as captain coach of

Cessnock, New South Wales Cessnock is a city in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road west of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the City of Cessnock Local government in Australia, LGA and was named after a ...

in 1935. He then came back to Sydney and moved to the St. George District and had one season at the

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

in 1936, but injuries ended his final season early. Hardy's sons

Kevin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

and

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

played first grade for

while his grandson,

Steve ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

, was an Australian schoolboy rugby league representative who played for both the Cronulla-Sutherland and Eastern Suburbs clubs. A

glazier A glazier is a tradesman responsible for cutting, installing, and removing glass (and materials used as substitutes for glass, such as some plastics).Elizabeth H. Oakes, ''Ferguson Career Resource Guide to Apprenticeship Programs'' ( Infobase: ...

by trade Hardy was aged 87 at the time of his death in 1993.SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (Death Notice) Death Notice : 3 April 1993

References

Sources

* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * (David Middleton), ''Rugby League Yearbook'' 1905 births 1993 deaths Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players New South Wales rugby league team players City New South Wales rugby league team players Sydney Roosters players St. George Dragons players Australia national rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Sydney {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1900s-stub