Bill Kelly (rugby league)
Killara, New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Position | Centre, Stand-off | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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William Martin Kelly (1892–1975), born in
Early years
Born in
Playing career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Auckland_v_Wellington%2C_1912_at_Victoria_Park.png/220px-Auckland_v_Wellington%2C_1912_at_Victoria_Park.png)
He began playing rugby union for the Westport Rivals club in 1909.[4] In 1910 he was again playing for them and at the end of the season he was selected to play for Buller. His debut representative match for them was against West Coast on September 10. Buller lost 16-0 with Kelly at five eighth. 3 days later he played against Inangahua and scored a try in a 6-3 loss. He then moved to Wellington. Kelly switched to rugby league with the launch of the Wellington Rugby League competition in 1912 and played for Athletic in their grand final loss to Petone.[5]
He became a
He joined the Balmain Tigers in Sydney in 1914 and that same year made his sole international Test appearance as a centre for Australia in the first Test against England at the Royal Agricultural Ground. He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No. 90.[7]
He made further representative appearances for New South Wales in 1915 and captain-coached an undefeated
War service
Kelly enlisted in the 1st AIF in 1916 in Sydney. He joined Machine Gun Company No. 9 and embarked for the Western Front on HMAT Benalla in May 1916. He was a Sergeant when he sustained wounds in Belgium which saw him repatriated in October 1917.
Coaching career
In 1932 Kelly returned to New Zealand. He coached both New Zealand and Auckland against the 1932 Great Britain team.[11]
Legacy
Since 1997
In 2012 he was named in the Wellington Rugby League's Team of the Century.
Sources
- Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) The History of Rugby League Clubs, New Holland, Sydney
- Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
- Heads, Ian and Middleton, David (2008) A Centenary of Rugby League, MacMillan Sydney
- Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
Footnotes
- ^ Yesterday's Hero
- ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ both the Whiticker and Heads/Middleton sources refer to this nickname
- ^ "None". Grey River Argus. 10 April 1909. p. 2. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ Team of the Century-Week 3 Wellington Rugby League
- New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1988. p.p.151-159
- ^ ARL Annual Report, page 52
- New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1998. p.203
- ^ Rugby League Project & Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players
- ^ Straight Between the posts by Frank Hyde
- ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4.
- ISBN 1-86971-090-8
- ^ "League: Kiwis wait to get hands on trophy". The New Zealand Herald. 14 November 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2011.