Nathan Hindmarsh made his first NRL tackle on a long-forgotten Adelaide Rams player in the western NSW country town of Parkes in 1998 and since then he has cut down almost everything that has moved in a career of extraordinary dedication.
If tackle counts were accumulated from the time the game started in 1908, in all probability, Nathan Hindmarsh’s name would appear at the top of the list.
He is acknowledged as the first player to register 10,000 tackles since performance statistics were first centralised in the late 1990s and by the time his career winds up at ANZ Stadium in Round 26 he will be pushing the monumental tally of 12,000 career tackles.
At his peak there was far more to Hindmarsh’s game than tackling landmarks.
A player doesn’t represent his state 17 times and play 22 Tests for his country through defence alone.
In his prime, Hindmarsh combined his defensive workload with a powerful running game and earned recognition as Dally M second-rower of the year five times.
He was a seven-time winner of Parramatta’s Ken Thornett Medal as the Eels’ player of the year and was voted by the public as the most popular figure in the game (winning the Provan-Summons Medal) on five occasions.
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Nathan Hindmarsh Stats:
| Born: | September 7, 1979, Bowral, NSW (age 32) |
| Height: | 188cm |
| Weight: | 100kg |
| Points: | 240 (60 tries) |
| NRL Games: | 329 |
| First Grade Debut: | Parramatta v Adelaide at Pioneer Oval, Parkes, 16/5/1998 (Rd 10) |
| Club(s): | Parramatta 1998-2012 |
| Junior Football: | Robertson/Moss Vale |
| Junior Rep Honours: | Junior Kangaroos 1998 |
| Australia: | Tests 22 (2000-09), World Cup 2000, |
| New South Wales: | State of Origins 17 (2001-10) |
| Country Origin: | 2008 |
| Grand Finals: | 2 – Parramatta 2001 (L), 2009 (L) |
| Other Information: | Represented NRL All Stars 2011, 2012 |
Fast Fact:
Hindmarsh’s career tally of tackles stands at 12,150
