Unusually for a sports official, in his long career he was accorded the same profile as some of the top players he refereed.
[1][2] A policeman off-field before he resigned to concentrate on rugby league,[3] he is widely recognised as one of Australia's greatest sports umpires.
[5] William James "Bill" Harrigan was born in 1960 in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales.
In 1985 he refereed his first New South Wales Rugby League premiership match, between Cronulla and Western Suburbs.
[3] Harrigan holds the following Australian rugby league refereeing records[4] In July 2001 Harrigan successfully sued Australian radio broadcaster Alan Jones for defamatory remarks made by Jones during a 1998 interview, resulting in an award of $90,000.