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. He received the BHP Medal as the Illawarra Steelers' player of the year in 1994.
In 1996 Simon moved to the Sydney City 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.[4]
In the 1998 preliminary final against Canterbury, Parramatta were ahead 18-2 with less than 10 minutes to play. After Canterbury scored a try to make it 18-6, Simon had two chances of a field goal that would have given Parramatta the victory but missed both attempts. After missing the second attempt, Simon was substituted off the field by a frustrated Brian Smith. Canterbury went on to win the game 32-20 in extra time.[5][6]
His apparent lack of fitness found him out of favor 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. The Tigers had been beaten 64-0 by Melbourne that weekend.[7]
In 2003 Simon was named in the commemorative Illawarra "Team of Steel" celebrating players from 25 years of the club's history.
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.
Post-career
After retiring, Simon worked in Aboriginal Education, before buying a Subway in Kiama in 1997. He coached at a local level, including the Illawarra Titans in a Koori knockout competition.[8]
References
^"John Simon - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
^"Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
^"look who we bumped into". League Central. Sydney, NSW: News Limited (18 April 2011): 3.
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
May 20, 2023
john, simon, rugby, league, john, jack, simon, born, 1972, australian, former, rugby, league, footballer, played, 1990s, 2000s, club, career, spent, with, illawarra, steelers, easts, parramatta, auckland, wests, tigers, indigenous, australian, descent, simon, . John Jack 2 Simon born 29 May 1972 is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s His club career was spent with the Illawarra Steelers Easts Parramatta Auckland and Wests Tigers Of Indigenous Australian descent Simon also represented Australia and New South Wales in Origin John SimonPersonal informationBorn 1972 05 29 29 May 1972 age 50 Port Kembla New South Wales AustraliaHeight177 cm 5 ft 10 in Weight85 kg 13 st 5 lb Playing informationPositionHalfbackClubYears Team Pld T G FG P1990 95 Illawarra Steelers 120 27 30 9 1771996 Sydney City Roosters 15 5 0 0 201997 99 Parramatta Eels 45 12 26 13 1131999 00 Auckland Warriors 32 2 51 0 1102001 Wests Tigers 18 4 11 1 39Total 230 50 118 23 459RepresentativeYears Team Pld T G FG P1992 97 NSW Country 5 0 2 1 51992 97 New South Wales 4 0 2 1 51997 Australia 1 0 1 0 2Source 1 As of 8 November 2019His brother Craig Simon also was a professional rugby league player 3 Contents 1 Playing career 2 Representative career 3 Post career 4 References 5 SourcesPlaying career EditA 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 He received the BHP Medal as the Illawarra Steelers player of the year in 1994 In 1996 Simon moved to the Sydney City 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 4 In the 1998 preliminary final against Canterbury Parramatta were ahead 18 2 with less than 10 minutes to play After Canterbury scored a try to make it 18 6 Simon had two chances of a field goal that would have given Parramatta the victory but missed both attempts After missing the second attempt Simon was substituted off the field by a frustrated Brian Smith Canterbury went on to win the game 32 20 in extra time 5 6 His apparent lack of fitness found him out of favor 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 The Tigers had been beaten 64 0 by Melbourne that weekend 7 In 2003 Simon was named in the commemorative Illawarra Team of Steel celebrating players from 25 years of the club s history Representative career EditHe 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 Post career EditAfter retiring Simon worked in Aboriginal Education before buying a Subway in Kiama in 1997 He coached at a local level including the Illawarra Titans in a Koori knockout competition 8 References Edit John Simon Career Stats amp Summary Rugby League Project www rugbyleagueproject org Retrieved 8 November 2019 Richard Becht Backs To The Future 16 March 2000 Craig Simon RLP 15 September 2016 Retrieved 16 September 2016 Men s Honour Roll Sydney Roosters Archived from the original on 27 March 2019 Retrieved 8 November 2019 Top 10 preliminary final heartbreaks www nrl com Memorable Match 1998 Preliminary Final www bulldogs com au Custom Match List Rugby League Project Retrieved 11 April 2011 look who we bumped into League Central Sydney NSW News Limited 18 April 2011 3 Sources EditAndrews Malcolm 2006 The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn Sydney Whiticker Alan amp 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Simon rugby league amp oldid 1146875889, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
