Bob Nicholson (rugby league, born 1880)

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Bob Nicholson (Robert Harding Nicholson) was an Australian rugby league player born on 10 October 1880 on the Manning River in New South Wales. He died on 31 March 1940 in Hamilton, New South Wales. Nicholson was a fast and tough forward, usually playing in the front row or second row.

Club career:
- 1908: Newcastle Rebels (4 games)
- 1914: North Sydney (5 games)
Overall, he played nine first‑grade club games and did not score any points.

Representative career:
- Queensland: 17 games between 1909 and 1912, scoring four tries (12 points)
- Australia: 2 Test appearances between 1909 and 1910, scoring one try (3 points)

Key moments:
- He started with Newcastle Rebels in the league’s inaugural season (1908).
- He moved to Queensland in 1909 and joined South Brisbane, later representing Queensland 17 times.
- He was chosen for Australia for the 1908–09 tour of Great Britain but had to withdraw at the last moment.
- His international debut came in 1909 in Australia’s home series against New Zealand; in the same year, he played three of the four matches against the touring New Zealand Māori team.
- He also played in the 1910 home series against the Great Britain Lions.
- In 1911, Nicholson received a two‑year suspended prison sentence for bigamy.