Howard Hallett
Encyclopedia
Howard Hallett was an Australian rugby league
player and coach for the
South Sydney Rabbitohs
in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership
. Hallett primarily played at fullback. He represented for New South Wales and Australia and is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century
footballer but was graded with Souths in 1908, the first season of rugby league in Australia and made his debut in the first-grade team in 1909.
Hallett was a playing member of three premiership-winning teams; 1909, 1914 and 1918. At the end of the 1914 season, Hallett was awarded a silver belt by the Sanderson Whiskey company as Player of the Season.
at Newcastle
as a centre and scoring his one and only test try. He played the remaining two tests at fullback.
Hallett toured with New South Wales to New Zealand in both the 1913 inaugural tour and 1914. Hallett's final year as a member of the national team was in 1914, when the Northern Union toured Australia.
he was back at Souths as coach. He coached the team through their only unbeaten season; twelve games. The final two games of the season were cancelled as Souths sat at the top of the ladder, ten points ahead of their nearest rival.
A four-team semi-finals series, along with other rule changes to speed up the game, was introduced in 1926 in an effort by the NSWRL to attract crowds back to the matches. Hallett once again coached his team to the top of the premiership ladder, with eleven points separating Souths from the Glebe Dirty Reds, and took the team on to win the first finals series.
Hallett retired from coaching at the end of the 1926 season. He died in 1970.
and ARL
to
celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
player and coach for the
South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership
New South Wales Rugby League premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League from 1908 until 1994, the premiership was the state's and later the country's elite rugby league competition...
. Hallett primarily played at fullback. He represented for New South Wales and Australia and is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century
Playing career
Hallett was originally an Australian rulesAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
footballer but was graded with Souths in 1908, the first season of rugby league in Australia and made his debut in the first-grade team in 1909.
Hallett was a playing member of three premiership-winning teams; 1909, 1914 and 1918. At the end of the 1914 season, Hallett was awarded a silver belt by the Sanderson Whiskey company as Player of the Season.
Representative career
Hallett was first selected to play for New South Wales in 1911. In the same year he was selected to tour with the 1911–1912 Australasian Kangaroos, making his debut playing against the Northern UnionRugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
at Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
as a centre and scoring his one and only test try. He played the remaining two tests at fullback.
Hallett toured with New South Wales to New Zealand in both the 1913 inaugural tour and 1914. Hallett's final year as a member of the national team was in 1914, when the Northern Union toured Australia.
Coaching career
Hallett retired from first-grade in 1924 and in 1925New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1925
The 1925 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the eighteenth season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first...
he was back at Souths as coach. He coached the team through their only unbeaten season; twelve games. The final two games of the season were cancelled as Souths sat at the top of the ladder, ten points ahead of their nearest rival.
A four-team semi-finals series, along with other rule changes to speed up the game, was introduced in 1926 in an effort by the NSWRL to attract crowds back to the matches. Hallett once again coached his team to the top of the premiership ladder, with eleven points separating Souths from the Glebe Dirty Reds, and took the team on to win the first finals series.
Hallett retired from coaching at the end of the 1926 season. He died in 1970.
Accolades
In February 2008, Hallett was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRLNational Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
and ARL
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
to
celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.