Bill Kelly

Playing 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

Playing 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   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Tour Matches New Zealand 13 12 -   - 36 5 8 0 38.46% List
Tour Matches Wellington 2 - -   - - 0 2 0 0.00% List
Tour Matches Hawke's Bay 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
NRL 27 16 -   - 48 18 3 6 66.67% List
Tour Matches Metropolis 1 1 -   - 3 1 0 0 100.00% List
Tour Matches New South Wales Firsts 1 1 -   - 3 1 0 0 100.00% List
Tour Matches Australia 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Test Series 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
The Ashes 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
City Cup 2 - -   - - 0 2 0 0.00% List
Interstate Matches 2 - -   - - 2 0 0 100.00% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1914 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Hawke's Bay 1912 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Wellington 1912-13 2 - -   - - 0 2 0 0.00% List
Metropolis 1914-15 3 2 -   - 6 3 0 0 100.00% List
NSW Firsts 1914-15 3 1 -   - 3 3 0 0 100.00% List
Overall1912-1915 9 3 0   0 9 6 3 0 66.67% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Balmain NSWRFL 1914 13 7 -   - 21 6 3 4 46.15% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1915 14 9 -   - 27 12 0 2 85.71% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Balmain 1914-15 27 16 -   - 48 18 3 6 66.67% List

Your Say

Want to have your say about this player? Add a comment.

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