Tim Smith (rugby league)

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Tim Smith

Personal information
Full name	Timothy Aiden Smith
Date of birth	13 January 1985 (1985-01-13) (age 23)
Place of birth	Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	14 st 7 lbs (92 kg)
School(s)	Coombabah State High School
Club information
Position(s)	Scrum-half
Current club	Wigan Warriors
Number	TBA
Youth clubs
Years	Club
	Runaway Bay Seagulls
Youth representative teams
2002	Australian Schoolboys
Senior clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (points)
2005–2008 2008–	Parramatta Eels Wigan Warriors	71 (46) 0 (0)
* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only and correct as of 07:28, 1 December 2007 (UTC).

Timothy Aiden Smith (born 13 January 1985 in Runaway Bay, Queensland) is an Australian professional rugby league player for the Wigan Warriors in the in the European Super League competition. His position of choice is half-back.

Contents 1 Awards and acclaim 2 Controversy 3 Move to England 4 Career highlights 5 Footnotes 6 External links

[edit] Awards and acclaim

In 2005, he won the prestigious Dally M Rookie of the Year award after leading the NRL in try assists. He also received much acclaim from Parramatta legend Peter Sterling, who "handed over" the Eels #7 jersey in an episode of The NRL Footy Show in the middle of 2005. Tim has been touted as the most naturally skilled halfback in the NRL with the ability to land precsion kicks and passes with incredible accuracy. With 40 try assists in his debut season Smith entered the NRL scene with a bang, he was labeled as the next 'Joey' and 'Sterlo'.

[edit] Controversy

In December 2005, Tim Smith was allegedly involved in a street scuffle with a man in the inner-Sydney suburb of The Rocks.^[1] Tim Smith denied any such action and no charges were laid.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2007, further allegations of public drunken behaviour were made against Smith.^[2]

He had been suspended indefinitely by the Eels. He remained on contract with the club, and Parramatta stated the most important issue is his health. Smith booked himself into full-time rehab interstate.^[3] On the 8 January 2008 the Parramatta Club reviewed his behaviour at the Rehalibitation clinic and lifted his suspension but he was to do a number of sanctions which include a fine and charity work. ^[4]

Early in the 2008 season, after just three games of football, Tim confessed to his club and team that he was suffering from bipolar disorder and then gave a statement to the media saying he had been given an indefinite leave from football, saying he was having trouble coping with the constant criticism from the media.

Tim will return to his family in the Gold Coast and it is not sure when, or even if, he will make his return to football.

[edit] Move to England

Wigan Warriors announce on Monday 9th June that Smith has signed for them :

Wigan Warriors can today confirm they have signed 23 year old Australian half-back, Tim Smith, for the remainder of this season plus 2009.

Smith is expected to arrive in the UK once his work-permit has been approved to link up with his new Wigan team mates.

Smith has previously played for the Parramatta Eels Club in the NRL where he made 71 appearances since 2005. He represented Australian Schoolboys in 2002 and in 2005 he won the ‘Rookie of the Year Award’ at the prestigious Dally ‘M’ awards ceremony.

Speaking about the signing, Chairman Ian Lenagan said:

“Tim is a talented half-back with an excellent kicking game and an outstanding record in try assists in the NRL. His signing for 2009 means that Wigan will have three kicking playmakers in Tommy Leuluai, Mark Riddell and Tim to help fill the gap caused by Trent Barrett’s early departure which is proving very difficult to fill at late notice for 2009. Whilst it will take a while for Tim to be fully match-fit, his 2008 arrival strengthens the squad for the remainder of the season and provides an additional playmaker for the run in to the Playoffs.

“We acknowledge some risks – reflected in the Contract - in signing Tim after his early-season illness difficulties but Tim now feels ready to re-launch his Rugby League career away from the Sydney media pressure. We believe the supportive and professional environment at the Wigan Club is ideal to help him achieve this.”

“He is a young player of outstanding talents who can add a new dimension to our attacking options and we look forward to seeing him in action with the Wigan Club in the near future.”

Tim Smith added : “I am really looking forward to joining the Wigan Club and am grateful for the Warriors for giving me the opportunity to re-launch my playing career. My aim is to impress the management, coaching staff and fans and to win something with Wigan. My personal problems have been well documented but they are now behind me and I want to concentrate only on playing footy.”

Smith had also been linked with a move to England and London based franchise Harlequins Rugby League.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]}

[edit] Career highlights

• First-grade Debut: Parramatta v Wests Tigers, Telstra Stadium, 12 March 2005(Rd 1)
• Awards:2005 Dally M Rookie of the Year

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Parramatta Eels Official Site
• Parramatta Eels in 2006 - All the news they don't show you
• Rugby League Project stats

v • d • e Wigan Warriors – current squad 1 Mathers • 2 Calderwood • 3 Goulding • 4 Carmont • 5 Richards • 6 Barrett • 7 Leuluai • 8 Fielden • 9 Higham • 10 Paleaaesina • 11 Hock • 12 Bailey • 13 O'Loughlin • 14 Colbon • 15 Coley • 16 Hansen • 17 McIlorum • 19 Prescott • 20 Pryce • 21 Phelps • 22 J. Tomkins • 23 Kavanagh • 24 O'Carroll • 25 Coyle • 26 Stanton • 27 Mossop • 28 Flanagan • 29 S. Tomkins • 30 Thornley • 31 Ainscough • 40 Reay • Coach: Brian Noble

v • d • e Parramatta Eels – current squad  Cayless (c) •  Burt •  Cordoba •  Finch •  Galuvao •  Grothe •  Hayne •  Hauraki •  Hindmarsh •  Inu •  K. Keating •  M. Keating •  Lowrie •  Mateo •  Mitchell •  Moimoi •  Oake •  Paulo •  Reddy •  Riddell •  Robinson •  B. Smith •  T. Smith •  Tautai •  Wagon • Coach: Hagan