Bill Kelly

Coaching Career

Vital Statistics

Full Name
William Martin Kelly
Born
Sunday, 9th November, 1890
Died
Tuesday, 1st July, 1975 (Aged 84 years and 233 days)
Place Of Birth
Westport, West Coast, New Zealand

Biography

When the ANZac Test was instituted by Super League in April 1997 it was decided to name the ‘Best and Fairest’ medal after Bill Kelly – the first (of only two to date) player to represent both NZ and Australia in rugby league (the NRL named the ANZac Test trophy after Kelly in 1998). A dual international in his native NZ, Kelly toured Australia in 1912-13 before joining Balmain in 1914. The same year he made his debut for his adopted country as a centre in the First Test against England. While this was to be his only Test appearance, Kelly played for NSW in 1915 and captain-coached the Tigers during an undefeated season that secured the club its first premiership. Injuries suffered whilst fighting in Belgium during World War One curtailed his playing career but after his retirement he was regarded as the 'Prince of Coaches', coaching University (1923-24), Newtown (1936-37), Balmain (1938-43 including a grand final win over Souths in 1939), St George (1944), C’bury (1945) and NZ against England (1933).
- ALAN WHITICKER

Coaching Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.

Competitions

Competition   Games W L D Win %  
NRL 149 86 51 12 57.72% List
City Cup 2 0 2 0 0.00% List
NRL Finals 7 2 5 0 28.57% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season Games W L D Win %  
Balmain NSWRFL 1914 14 6 4 4 42.86% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1915 14 12 0 2 85.71% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1938 15 7 7 1 46.67% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1939 16 12 2 2 75.00% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1940 14 7 6 1 50.00% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1941 15 9 6 0 60.00% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1942 16 10 6 0 62.50% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1943 16 10 5 1 62.50% List
St George NSWRFL 1944 15 9 6 0 60.00% List
Canterbury NSWRFL 1945 14 4 9 1 28.57% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years Games W L D Win %  
Balmain 1914-15, 1938-43 120 73 36 11 60.83% List
St George 1944 15 9 6 0 60.00% List
Canterbury 1945 14 4 9 1 28.57% List
Overall1914-1945 149 86 51 12 57.72% List

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Contributions: Greg Fiveash, Andrew Ferguson, Shawn Dollin, Rugby League Tables