Hardy played with North Melbourne in the VFA for over a decade where he formed a strong ruck combination with Syd Barker.

[1] He captained the club in 1914, and served as a brilliant rover helping North to premiership victories in 1910, 1914, 1915 and 1918.

Hardy left the club along with many of his teammates upon the temporary disbanding of North Melbourne in 1921, and joined Essendon in the VFL.

This effort saw him rejoin Essendon in 1928 as their non-playing coach and he spent three years in this role with the Bombers, narrowly missing the finals on each occasion.

Williamstown Juniors won the premiership in that season and followed it up with another in 1917 before Hardy returned to North Melbourne.