Zak Hardaker

Zak Hardaker
Personal information
Full nameZak Alexander Hardaker[1][2]
Born (1991-10-17) 17 October 1991 (age 33)
Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3]
Weight14 st 2 lb (90 kg)[3]
Playing information
PositionFullback, Centre, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2010 Featherstone Rovers 14 22 0 0 88
2011–16 Leeds Rhinos 155 67 43 1 355
2011(loan) → Featherstone Rovers 5 6 0 0 24
2016(loan) → Penrith Panthers 11 1 0 0 4
2017(loan) → Castleford Tigers 19 5 0 0 20
2017 Castleford Tigers 11 8 1 0 34
2019–22 Wigan Warriors 80 26 218 2 542
2022 Leeds Rhinos 18 2 12 0 32
2023–24 Leigh Leopards 52 10 39 0 118
2025– Hull FC 0 0 0 0 0
Total 365 147 313 3 1217
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2012 England Knights 1 2 0 0 8
2012–15 England 7 2 0 0 8
2019 Great Britain 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [4][5][6]
As of 3 October 2024

Zak Alexander Hardaker (born 17 October 1991) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre or fullback for the Hull FC in the Super League. He has played for the England Knights, England and Great Britain at international level.

Hardaker previously played for as a centre, fullback and on the wing for the Featherstone Rovers in the Championship, and the Leeds Rhinos over two separate spells in the Super League. He has spent time on loan from Leeds at the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and the Castleford Tigers in the Super League.[5]

Hardaker has won two Challenge Cups and three Super League championships with Leeds. Individually he has been named to the Super League Dream Team on two occasions, and was the 2015 Man of Steel.[4]

In September 2017, Hardaker failed a drugs test after testing positive for cocaine.[7] He was subsequently dropped by Castleford and England and missed the 2017 Super League Grand Final, which Castleford lost 24–6 to Leeds, and the 2017 Rugby League World Cup before being dismissed by Castleford on 21 February 2018.[8] On 30 April 2018 UK Anti-Doping announced that Hardaker was banned from all sports for 14 months, backdated to the date of the original failed drugs test and suspension on 8 September 2017.

Whilst still suspended, Hardaker signed for Wigan in May 2018[9] before joining them in November 2018 after his suspension ended. Whilst preparing for his comeback, he was banned from driving after being arrested for drink-driving at the end of September 2018.[10]

On 20 January 2019 he made his debut for Wigan, having not played for 16 months, and scored 12 points in their 28-18 pre-season friendly victory over the Salford Red Devils.[11]

On 22 April 2022, it was announced that Hardaker had left Wigan with immediate effect, to return to his family base in Yorkshire, and pursue other opportunities close to home, after he was dropped from the team, for the Easter weekend fixtures against St Helens and Wakefield respectively.[12]

On 27 April 2022, Hardaker rejoined Leeds Rhinos until the end of the season, and was selected in the 21 man squad to face Hull KR on 29 April. However, on 28 April, it was reported that Hardaker had collapsed, and suffered a seizure whilst out on a walk with his son, and was taken to hospital in Wakefield as a precaution, before being discharged. Due to health and safety reasons, he did not play.[13]

  1. ^ "Hardaker Excited About Future For England Rugby League". Leeds Rhinos. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Zak Alexander Hardaker". Companies House. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Zak Hardaker Leeds Rhinos". www.superleague.co.uk. Rugby Football League. 2015. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. ^ "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Club Statement: Zak Hardaker". Castleford Tigers. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Castleford Tigers dismiss Zak Hardaker after failed drugs test". Yorkshire Evening Post. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Wigan Warriors confirm Zak Hardaker signing on four-year deal". Sky Sports. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Wigan Warriors star signing Zak Hardaker arrested for drink driving". Wigan Today. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  11. ^ "New Wigan Warriors star Zak Hardaker pleased to tick another box". 20 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Zak Hardaker leaves Wigan with immediate effect". 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Hardaker's Leeds return delayed after collapse". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 May 2022.