379), Mount Albert United, York, and Toulouse rugby league clubs, along with the North Island, and Auckland representative sides.

He played in their 5th grade side initially but made his senior debut on 4 October in a round 1 match for the Roope Rooster knockout competition.

In a round 2 championship match against City Rovers on 9 May he was involved in a try after combining with Clarrie Polson "in a clever passing movement" with Alan Clarke scoring.

[15] Hardgrave missed selection to the tour which was perhaps unsurprising given his young age and relative inexperience however he was chosen to make his Auckland debut in a match against the New Zealand side which was soon to depart.

[24] He also showed that he was nearing selection for Auckland when he was pulled into the squad to meet Otago on 7 August after his Newton teammate Alan Clarke informed selectors he would be unavailable.

Despite this moment, however, the Auckland Star noted that "Dufty, Hardgrave, and McLeod all showed up, but they had no real combination, and until they learn to get the ball swiftly to the wings, one cannot see Newton getting points commensurate with the work of a good pack in front of them".

[32] Newton were knocked out of the Roope Rooster competition in the first round but by virtue of their championship win they qualified for the Stormont Shield, which they won 25–14 over Richmond in a match which featured multiple serious injuries.

[39] He had a 2 try performance against Ellerslie United on 19 May, and scored another on 9 June against Marist; the Star said that "Hardgrave, who is quick as lightning off the mark and can work in a small space, did some brilliant things".

The spectators were not slow in showing their appreciation of Hardgrave's cleverness, and he was given a rousing reception when he ran practically the length of the field to score a beautiful try".

He scored again soon after diving on a ball after messy play by Canterbury, while his third came just before half time after Frank Delgrosso had got an attacking movement going that saw Hardgrave run in unopposed.

His fourth try came after all the Auckland backs handled and finished with Hardgrave outpacing the remaining defence, and his fifth came at the end of the game to round out the scoring.

In the second half with the score 7–5 to England "Hargrave put in a good dash down the line to the English corner, but the ball went out behind" after he had chased a long kick by Dufty.

With the score 2–0 to New Zealand "Hardgrave made a great run, Wetherill, Brisbane, and Prenctice carrying on", though an infringement near the line ended the movement.

Gathering the ball at halfway from loose play, the wing three quarter eluded at least seven visiting players, including the fullback, to score behind the posts".

On 17 June the Auckland Star reported "rumour is persistent that R. Hardgrave, the Newton league captain and flying wing three-quarter has received an offer to play for the St. Helens Club (Lancashire), but the Auckland and New Zealand representative denied, in an interview this morning, that he had received any cable from Home or been made an offer on behalf of the club in New Zealand".

[79] Hardgrave was ultimately to leave New Zealand shores on 6 July on board the Shaw, Savill and Albion Line steamer, the SS Corinthic with his wife Ethel.

[90] Their demands were rejected on the grounds that they had refused "to allow the matter to remain in abeyance until after the League Cup semi-final", and all three were omitted from the team to meet Wigan.

[94] It was reported in January 1934 that due to a sudden fall in gate takings St Helens were placing Hardgrave, English captain Alf Ellaby, and Griffin on the transfer list.

[98] Newton held a dance for Hardgrave on Tuesday, 26 June at the Society of Arts Hall on Kitchener Street was filled to capacity with over 500 people in attendance.

[102] At a meeting of the Auckland Rugby League Referees on 9 July, Hardgrave "gave a general explanation of the rules and interpretations as he found the different points applied in England".

[103] Devonport, Richmond, and City all then advised the Auckland Rugby League of their "desire" to receive a lecture from Hardgrave in his role as the "advisory coach".

[104] A notice appeared in the 20 July edition of the Auckland Star that the Publican's License for the Market Hotel on Grey Street was intending to being transferred from John Patrick Malloy to Roy Arthur Hardgrave.

[109] It turned out that Hardgrave's failure to play in Newton's match against City on 21 July had come about because of a dispute with the club selector (Mr. McGregor).

[114] His final match of the season was in fact as a guest player for a Ponsonby XIII against the touring Western Suburbs side from Sydney.

Then on 10 August he was a guest at the weekly Auckland Rugby League control board meeting and "gave an interesting talk on football in [England and France]".

Mount Albert had been joined by Australian Bob Banham as full time player coach after he had spent the 1938 season assisting various Auckland clubs.

The Herald reported that the now 33 year old "Hardgrave on the wing … gave one of the best displays seen this season and must be considered unlucky to have missed a place in the New Zealand team.

[133] He was again outstanding in a round 1 Roope Rooster win over Newton where he "made many fine runs, and several times went close to scoring solo tries".

[143] In October 1934 Hardgrave published a notice that he was seeking to transfer his publicans licence that he held for the Market Hotel to Ernest George Hallett.

Hardgrave had been granted a license from the Auckland office for 12 gallons but was living in Balmoral at the time and the amount was insufficient to get to his work at Westfield where he was an engineer.