Ron Hilditch (born 13 August 1953) is an Australian former professional

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 11 ...

footballer and coach. An Australian international and New South Wales

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

representative forward, he played club football for the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

with whom he won the 1981 NSWRFL Premiership.

Playing career

Hilditch made his first grade debut for Parramatta in round 6 of the 1975 season against Western Suburbs. In 1976, he played in Parramatta's first ever grand final which was a 13–10 loss to Manly-Warringah. The following year, he played in Parramatta's 1977 Grand Final and Grand Final replay loss against St. George. In 1981, it was third time lucky for Hilditch as he played in Parramatta's first-ever premiership victory, a 20–11 win over Newtown in the grand final. An Australian Kangaroo, Hilditch was selected for three internationals, all against France; once in 1978 and twice in 1981. Hilditch was selected to represent

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 ...

as a front-rower for the only

game in 1981. Hilditch played in the club's 1982 preliminary final victory over

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 ...

but missed out on selection in the 1982 Grand Final where Parramatta defeated Manly-Warringah.

Coaching career

After three years as captain-coach of

Mudgee Mudgee is a town in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area as well as being th ...

in the Country Rugby League, Hilditch coached the

Illawarra Steelers The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, they ...

in 1989 and 1990. In 1994, he succeeded Mick Cronin at Parramatta but his three years as coach of the club were not particularly successful, with only a 30% win rate. Hilditch was replaced by Brian Smith in 1997. Hilditch was inducted into the Parramatta Eels Hall of Fame in 2006. Hilditch was a member of the Parramatta Eels Board of Directors.

References

External links

Parramatta Eels Honour Roll
1953 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Illawarra Steelers coaches New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Parramatta Eels coaches Parramatta Eels players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league props {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1950s-stub