1. Zak Alexander Hardaker was born on 17 October 1991 and is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre or fullback for the Hull FC in the Super League.
55 Facts About Zak Hardaker
1. 2.
Zak Hardaker has played for the England Knights, England and Great Britain at international level.
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Zak Hardaker has spent time on loan from Leeds at the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and the Castleford Tigers in the Super League.
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Zak Hardaker has won two Challenge Cups and three Super League championships with Leeds.
5.
In September 2017, Zak Hardaker failed a drugs test after testing positive for cocaine.
6.
On 30 April 2018 UK Anti-Doping announced that Zak 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.
7.
Whilst still suspended, Zak Hardaker signed for Wigan in May 2018 before joining them in November 2018 after his suspension ended.
8.
On 22 April 2022, it was announced that Zak 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.
9.
On 27 April 2022, Zak 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.
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Zak Hardaker joined the Featherstone Rovers from the local amateur side Featherstone Lions after leaving Carleton High School in Pontefract.
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Zak Hardaker previously played for his hometown club Knottingley Rockware before signing professional terms with the Featherstone Rovers.
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Zak Hardaker scored a hat-trick of tries on his 2010 debut for the Featherstone Rovers against Hunslet, and went on to score 22 tries in 14 games in all competitions in his debut season.
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Zak Hardaker trained with the Rhinos senior squad during pre-season and made two appearances in pre-season friendlies, before returning to Featherstone Rovers on a dual contract for the 2011 season.
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Zak Hardaker made five further appearances for Featherstone, scoring five tries.
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Zak Hardaker was handed the number 4 jersey for the 2012 season, taking over from long-time servant Keith Senior.
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Zak Hardaker was awarded the 2012 Super League Young Player of the Year.
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Zak Hardaker played in the 2012 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.
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Zak Hardaker played in the 2012 Super League Grand Final victory over Warrington at Old Trafford.
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Zak Hardaker was part of the Leeds squad that won the 2014 Challenge Cup Final with victory over Castleford at Wembley Stadium.
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Zak Hardaker earned his first selection in the Super League Dream Team at the end of the season.
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Zak Hardaker's form saw him earn a recall to the England squad for the 2014 Four Nations he did not feature in the tournament.
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Zak Hardaker's form continued in 2015, and he was part of the Leeds squad that won the 2015 Challenge Cup, with victory over the Hull Kingston Rovers at Wembley Stadium.
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Zak Hardaker played in the 2015 Super League Grand Final victory over the Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.
24.
In June 2016, Zak Hardaker requested a transfer from Leeds following the clubs poor form which saw them sitting bottom of the league table.
25.
On 23 June 2016 Zak Hardaker signed for the NRL team Penrith on loan for the remainder of the 2016 season in a swap for James Segeyaro.
26.
Zak Hardaker played with Penrith all the way to the semi-finals where the clubs 2016 NRL season ended.
27.
Zak Hardaker finished off his maiden year in the NRL playing in 11 games for the Penrith Panthers, scoring one try and assisting three others.
28.
Zak Hardaker's contract was terminated by Castleford on 21 February 2018 following his suspension in September 2017 for drug offences.
29.
Zak Hardaker missed the conversion and St Helens went down the other end to score the match winning try on the full-time siren.
30.
On 21 April 2022 Zak Hardaker was sacked by Wigan for disciplinary issues.
31.
On 26 April 2022, it was announced that Zak Hardaker had rejoined Leeds for the remainder of the 2022 Super League season.
32.
On 20 October 2022, Zak Hardaker signed a contract to join the newly promoted Leigh side.
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The move was seen as controversial due to Zak Hardaker leaving Wigan only months earlier citing homesickness and travel time between where the club was located and its proximity to Yorkshire.
34.
Zak Hardaker played 23 games for Leigh in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished fifth on the table and qualified for the playoffs.
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Zak Hardaker played in their elimination playoff loss against Hull Kington Rovers.
36.
In July 2024, Hull FC announced that Zak Hardaker would join the club from the start of the 2025 season on a two-year contract.
37.
Zak Hardaker played 25 games for Leigh in the 2024 Super League season which saw the club finish fifth on the table.
38.
In round 1 of the 2025 Super League season, Zak Hardaker made his club debut for Hull FC in their upset victory over Catalans Dragons.
39.
In 2012, Zak Hardaker made his England debut at fullback at the end of the season in the 2012 Autumn International Series on 27 October 2012 v Wales.
40.
Zak Hardaker was named in England's squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup; however, he was later forced to withdraw from the squad for personal reasons mid-tournament.
41.
In 2015, Zak Hardaker made his first appearance for England since the 2012 Autumn International Series.
42.
Zak Hardaker appeared for England in a test match against France where the English went on to destroy the away team.
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Zak Hardaker was selected for the test series against New Zealand which started a week later.
44.
Zak Hardaker was selected in squad for the 2019 Great Britain Lions tour of the Southern Hemisphere.
45.
Zak Hardaker made his Great Britain test debut in the defeat by Tonga.
46.
In November 2013, Zak Hardaker withdrew from the England squad during the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, citing personal reasons.
47.
Zak Hardaker issued a public apology for the incident, claiming the insult had been directed towards Warrington Wolves player Michael Monaghan rather than the referee.
48.
Zak Hardaker was subject to internal disciplinary action by his club.
49.
In October 2017, Zak Hardaker was omitted from Castleford Tigers squad for the 2017 Super League Grand Final against former club Leeds.
50.
Castleford issued a statement saying that Zak Hardaker had been left out for an unspecified "breach of club rules".
51.
On 9 October 2017, Castleford released a statement confirming Zak Hardaker had received a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance.
52.
In September 2018, Zak Hardaker was arrested for allegedly drink driving, driving without insurance, and driving without a valid MOT.
53.
Zak Hardaker was banned from driving in October 2018, having been found to be over double the legal limit.
54.
In February 2024, Zak Hardaker was again found guilty of driving over the prescribed limit of alcohol and driving without due care and attention.
55.
Leigh Leopards issued a club statement, committing their continued support to Zak Hardaker following the incident.