John Simon (rugby league)
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Simon | |
| Date of birth | May 29, 1972 | |
| Place of birth | , Australia | |
| Height | 177 cm | |
| Senior clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 1990–1995 1996 1997–1999 1999–2000 2001 |
Illawarra Steelers Easts Parramatta Auckland Wests Tigers |
120 (177) 15 (20) 45 (113) 32 (110) 20 (39) |
| Representative teams | ||
| 1992–1997 1997 |
New South Wales Origin Kangaroos |
4 (5) 1 (0) |
|
* Professional club appearances and points |
||
John Simon (born 29 May 1972) is an Australian former rugby league player. His club career was with the Illawarra Steelers, Easts, Parramatta, Auckland and Wests Tigers. Simon also represented for Australia and for New South Wales in Origin.
[edit] Club career
A Port Kembla local and Dapto junior, Simon made his first grade debut with the Steelers aged 17 and went on to make 120 appearances for the club between 1990 and 1995. In 2003 he was named in the commemorative Illawarra "Team of Steel" celebrating players from 25 years of the club's history.
In 1996 Simon moved to the Sydney Roosters but was unable to dislodge Adrian Lam from the first grade half spot and he moved to Parramatta for three seasons from 1997 to 1999. His apparent lack of fitness found him out of favour with coach Brian Smith and midway through 1999 he gained another release to play for Auckland (he was named captain in his second match with the club). After two seasons with the Warriors, Simon moved to the Wests Tigers where, despite some good performances for the club, he announced his retirement before the end of the 2001 season citing a lack of enthusiasm.
[edit] Representative career
He was selected at half-back for City Firsts in 1991 and 1992 and in game I of the 1992 State of Origin was picked in the run-on side when Ricky Stuart was unavailable due to injury. The Blues won the match but Stuart regained his spot for game II.
It would be another five years before Simon would again wear the Blues' jumper. During the 1997 season, split at both club and representative level due to the Super League war, Simon appeared in all three games, once at half and twice off the interchange bench. Simon was the Blues' hero in game II, landing a 26 metre field goal in the 67th minute that clinched New South Wales' 1 point win.
In 1997 Simon made his sole national representative appearance, selected for Australia in the one-off Test against a Rest-of-the-World side at Suncorp Stadium.
[edit] Sources
- Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
- Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) The History of Rugby League Clubs, New Holland, Sydney
- Big League's 25 Years of Origin Collectors' Edition , News Magazines, Surry Hills, Sydney
- John Simon at the State of Origin official website.
