One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: gtig on May 26, 2010, 12:27:40 AM
-
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tiger-simmonds-to-retire-wont-play-out-season-20100525-wb2w.html
Tiger Simmonds to retire, won't play out season
JAKE NIALL
May 26, 2010
RICHMOND ruckman Troy Simmonds is set to announce his retirement from AFL football and will not play out the season for the Tigers.
Simmonds, 31, is expected to announce that he will retire mid-season, to allow the club to continue on its youth track. He is the first player to choose a mid-season exit, rather than announce his retirement and then play until the end of the season, like Adelaide's Simon Goodwin - who announced his decision yesterday - and Sydney's Brett Kirk.
Richmond has not yet determined whether Simmonds will be given a send-off game before he finishes, but if both parties want a final game, then it would most likely be the club's next home game against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium, on Friday week.
Simmonds' retirement will intensify the spotlight on the club's only other 30-plus veteran, Ben Cousins, who struggled against Essendon on the weekend and has had an injury-interrupted second season at Tigerland.
It is understood that the decision has been made by the player, rather than the club, Simmonds understanding that the Tigers wish to develop and fast-track their three young ruckmen - Angus Graham, Andrew Browne and Tyrone Vickery - for the future. If he plays only one more game, he will finish his 12-year, three-club career on 197 games.
Richmond general manager of football operations Craig Cameron would not comment on Simmonds late yesterday.
Simmonds and Cousins were the only players aged 30 or older to survive the post-season cull which saw the retirements of Joel Bowden, Nathan Brown and Kane Johnson and eventually Matthew Richardson. Simmonds was retained because, as a ruckman in a very young list, he could protect the club's young ruck division from the physical demands of a position with a high attrition rate.
Simmonds has played six senior games this season, missing the past three due to a knee injury. In the meantime, Graham has shown significant improvement under the tutelage of assistant coach and former Port Adelaide star Brendon Lade.
Simmonds' exit will deprive the Tigers of a seasoned option in the event that Graham, Brown or Vickery are injured, although key position player and mature rookie Graham Polak could fill in.
Simmonds joined the Tigers, his third club, at the end of 2004, in effect replacing Geelong-bound Brad Ottens as the club's premier ruckman, and performed well immediately. He finished third in Richmond's best and fairest in 2006.
Simmonds went to the Tigers in a three-way swap for midfielder Aaron Fiora, who went to St Kilda, while Heath Black went from the Saints to Fremantle, where Simmonds had spent the previous three seasons for 64 games. The ruckman and some-time forward played 39 games for his first team, Melbourne, before was traded to the Dockers at the end of 2001. He was one of the VFL's major recruiting successes, having been drafted from Box Hill by Melbourne before the 1999 season (via the pre-season draft).
Simmonds also will be remembered as the Melbourne player who was on the receiving end of a heavy front-on bump from Essendon great Michael Long in the 2000 grand final. Simmonds was carted off on a stretcher following the collision, for which Long was suspended and later issued a public apology.
-
Good on you Simmo, good call, you served us well and all the best!!
-
Well done to Simmo. He's made the right call as his knee has been stuffed since last year and he couldn't play at the level he did in his first 4 years with us. Especially in 2006 and 08 he was great. One trade we actually came out a winner in. A shame for him he couldn't quite make it to 200 games.
-
Simmonds went to the Tigers in a three-way swap for midfielder Aaron Fiora, who went to St Kilda, while Heath Black went from the Saints to Fremantle, where Simmonds had spent the previous three seasons for 64 games.
Oh yeah just gotta love it.
Just remember when you are talking about how bad we are at trading remember that in effect we offloaded Fiona for Simmonds.
-
Thought i'd get this in before the crap starts getting dropped on simmo.
On big footy a poster claimed to have a 'contact' inside the club. amongst the mainly obvious personal opinions put forward by the 'contact', was the claim that simmo wanted to retire and the club talked him into a one year contract.
I think it may have been reported on here around trade time that ST kilda offered him a 2 year contract that he rejected.
Any personal critism put onto the bloke for continuing is probably unfair and good on him for now saying enough is enough. It's been pretty evident that mind has been willing but the body was not. The only real thing that Gus has bought to the side as his replacement is a younger body that is able to get around the ground for the entire game, even it it seems the mind isnt always instructing it that way.
It's a pity though there is no way to have put him on the LTI list.
-
It's a pity though there is no way to have put him on the LTI list.
No value in putting him on the LTIL Al, if we have no-one playing up to a level that demands senior games. Only impact is that it costs the club more player payment $$'s so if none of our rookies are ready then no point doing it. If we had a rookie ruckman then you 'might' (a small might) be able to mount a case as insurance but otherwise it would be a waste of money.
-
Should be conviced to stay on until the year for 2 reasons
1) If we get any injuries to our young rucks then we'll be screwed as we don't have much depth
2) Would rather he went onto the LTIL like Johnson did so we can elevate Gourdis
-
I think enough is enough
Thanks for the good times Simmo
-
best news ive heard in a while.
Yeah nice guy he may be well nice guys dont win flags.
thanks for the 15 metre kicks Simmo we will miss you terribly.
Adhious muchachos.
NEXT!!
-
its a damn disgrace he was kept on for this yr
pathetic, at least he could just go out on the LTIL RATHER THAN RETIRE
snake ur pathetic, glad to see the back of u fairy floss
-
its a damn disgrace he was kept on for this yr
pathetic, at least he could just go out on the LTIL RATHER THAN RETIRE
snake ur pathetic, glad to see the back of u fairy floss
That's a bit harsh, he is a bit over it this year but he has been a good player for us. He was never soft either.
-
Don't blame Snake for playing on, he thought he was doing the right thing by the club.
Blame those who put us in that position.
-
It's a pity though there is no way to have put him on the LTI list.
No value in putting him on the LTIL Al, if we have no-one playing up to a level that demands senior games. Only impact is that it costs the club more player payment $$'s so if none of our rookies are ready then no point doing it. If we had a rookie ruckman then you 'might' (a small might) be able to mount a case as insurance but otherwise it would be a waste of money.
Just because you elevate a rookie, doesn't mean you have to select them straight away. The more options you have for team slection the better, although reading around the traps some seem to of the opinion you can replace a retiree with a rookie elevation?
I wouldn't be too concerned about the money. In the whole scheme of things it wouldn't be that much.
-
its a damn disgrace he was kept on for this yr
pathetic, at least he could just go out on the LTIL RATHER THAN RETIRE
snake ur pathetic, glad to see the back of u fairy floss
The question here is, how would have gus done if he had been thrown to the wolves since round 1.
Although he has far from set the world on fire, his performances have been a vast improvement on that pathetic effort in the NAB cup. Those extra 2 months of development and teaching from Hardwick, Lade and Leppitch could very well have been invaluable.
-
Keeping Simmo on the list in 2010 sounded good in theory.
That theory went out the window right after round 1.
Sure it was a mistake in hindsight....but we move on.2010 was never going to be a success only journey.
Great years in 06 & 08 Simmo.
-
although reading around the traps some seem to of the opinion you can replace a retiree with a rookie elevation?
Unless the rules were changed at the end of last year, you definitely can't
-
Just because you elevate a rookie, doesn't mean you have to select them straight away. The more options you have for team slection the better, although reading around the traps some seem to of the opinion you can replace a retiree with a rookie elevation?
I wouldn't be too concerned about the money. In the whole scheme of things it wouldn't be that much.
Disagree Al. There is no need or benefit to promoting a rookie until they are needed - all it does is cost you more money for no gain. We can promote a rookie mid season but again, there is no requirement or need to unless we intend to play that rookie immediately, otherwise we are just wasting our money and at a club that is seeking to turnaround $4m in debt I would think that any money saved is a win. If we had a rookie that was knocking on the door of senior selection or if we had a rookie that could potentially replace the 'hole' that Simmonds will leave on our list (call it insurance) then I would say, yes let's look at it but as it is, the only one that MIGHT be approaching a senior crack is Gourdis and he can wait for 2 more weeks without any negative impact on our list whatsoever. None of the others are close and so would provide no benefit in more team selection options, so why spend money we don't have to?
-
although reading around the traps some seem to of the opinion you can replace a retiree with a rookie elevation?
Unless the rules were changed at the end of last year, you definitely can't
There is a reference in clause 4.9 of Schedule B of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that, I think, says something about promoting rookies for reasons other than replacement of a long term injured player ....
Schedule B to Collective Bargaining Agreement - from the AFL website
"4.9 For clarification and avoidance of doubt, a Rookie shall not be promoted onto the
Primary List of an AFL Club save and except for the purpose of replacing a long
term injury list Player as that concept is referred to in the Rules or where an AFL
Club demonstrates to the AFL General Manager – Football Operations that there are
exceptional and compelling circumstances that make it harsh and unconscionable
for a Rookie not to be promoted onto that AFL Club’s Primary List and where to do
so would not result in that AFL Club exceeding the maximum number of Players on
its Primary List. AFL Clubs who do not have Veterans shall continue to be entitled
to nominate Rookies.
Does that clause mean what I think it does?
-
although reading around the traps some seem to of the opinion you can replace a retiree with a rookie elevation?
Unless the rules were changed at the end of last year, you definitely can't
There is a reference in clause 4.9 of Schedule B of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that, I think, says something about promoting rookies for reasons other than replacement of a long term injured player ....
Schedule B to Collective Bargaining Agreement - from the AFL website
"4.9 For clarification and avoidance of doubt, a Rookie shall not be promoted onto the
Primary List of an AFL Club save and except for the purpose of replacing a long
term injury list Player as that concept is referred to in the Rules or where an AFL
Club demonstrates to the AFL General Manager – Football Operations that there are
exceptional and compelling circumstances that make it harsh and unconscionable
for a Rookie not to be promoted onto that AFL Club’s Primary List and where to do
so would not result in that AFL Club exceeding the maximum number of Players on
its Primary List. AFL Clubs who do not have Veterans shall continue to be entitled
to nominate Rookies.
Does that clause mean what I think it does?
Well I don't know but the first example that came to my mind was if a player died.
-
Or maybe if a team couldn't field 22 fit players due to flu in a given week?
-
Should be conviced to stay on until the year for 2 reasons
1) If we get any injuries to our young rucks then we'll be screwed as we don't have much depth
2) Would rather he went onto the LTIL like Johnson did so we can elevate Gourdis
Is Gourdis good enough though?
-
Should be conviced to stay on until the year for 2 reasons
1) If we get any injuries to our young rucks then we'll be screwed as we don't have much depth
2) Would rather he went onto the LTIL like Johnson did so we can elevate Gourdis
Is Gourdis good enough though?
Given the amount of BOG's and times he's been named in the bests at Coburg you'd have to suggest he deserves a go.
Especially when you also take into account the top job he did on Franklin when he was tearing us apart during the NAB Cup, pretty much kept him out of the game after he went onto him
-
Don't blame Snake for playing on, he thought he was doing the right thing by the club.
Blame those who put us in that position.
Agree. We can criticise him and his abilities this season all we like but the previous regime left us in this mess in the first place with no ruckmen of any experience left to pick up the pieces.
Whatever has been said in the past means nothing now. Thanks Simmo, all the best. :thumbsup
-
Should be conviced to stay on until the year for 2 reasons
1) If we get any injuries to our young rucks then we'll be screwed as we don't have much depth
2) Would rather he went onto the LTIL like Johnson did so we can elevate Gourdis
Is Gourdis good enough though?
Given the amount of BOG's and times he's been named in the bests at Coburg you'd have to suggest he deserves a go.
Especially when you also take into account the top job he did on Franklin when he was tearing us apart during the NAB Cup, pretty much kept him out of the game after he went onto him
Fair enough! Why have we not elevated him earlier then? Seems a little unfair that RR gets elevated in front of him!
-
Tiger ruck Simmonds expected to call it quits
richmondfc.com.au
By Luke Holmesby
6:25 PM Wed 26 May, 2010
RICHMOND ruckman Troy Simmonds is expected to announce his retirement at a media conference on Thursday morning.
It is not known whether he will retire immediately or will see out the season, as Sydney Swans co-captain Brett Kirk and Adelaide skipper Simon Goodwin have said they will do.
Simmonds has played 196 games and kicked 132 goals with three clubs.
The ruckman was drafted by Melbourne at pick No.9 in the 1999 pre-season draft after impressing for VFL side Box Hill.
Simmonds played in a grand final in just his second year of football.
The Demons lost to Essendon by 60 points, and Simmonds’ part in the match is best remembered for the bone-jarring hit he received from Essendon legend Michael Long that saw him stretchered off the field in a neck brace.
Simmonds played 40 games for the Demons before he was traded to Fremantle at the end of 2001.
He finished fifth in Fremantle’s best and fairest in his first year, during which he formed a strong ruck partnership with Aaron Sandilands, but after 75 games and 58 goals with Fremantle, Simmonds was on the move again to Richmond at the end of 2004.
He arrived at the Tigers as part of a three-way trade that saw Heath Black return to Fremantle from St Kilda and Aaron Fiora leave Richmond for the Saints.
Simmonds signed a five-year deal with his new club, arriving at the same time as new coach Terry Wallace.
He quickly assumed the mantle of No.1 ruckman at Richmond and finished third in the club’s best and fairest in 2006.
Things took a turn for the worse in 2007 when he was struck down by a blood clot in his lung, but he returned to play every game in 2008. During that season he represented Victoria in the Hall of Fame Tribute Match against the Dream Team.
Simmonds earned the nickname ‘Snake’ because of his fascination with reptiles and the fact he collected several pet snakes.
Simmonds has battled through a knee injury to play six games this year for a total of 86 with the Tigers.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/95075/default.aspx
-
its a damn disgrace he was kept on for this yr
pathetic, at least he could just go out on the LTIL RATHER THAN RETIRE
snake ur pathetic, glad to see the back of u fairy floss
and the winner of idiot of the year award goes to X 8)
Anyway. Good stuff Simmo. Good luck for the future :thumbsup
-
its a damn disgrace he was kept on for this yr
pathetic, at least he could just go out on the LTIL RATHER THAN RETIRE
snake ur pathetic, glad to see the back of u fairy floss
and the winner of idiot of the year award goes to X 8)
Anyway. Good stuff Simmo. Good luck for the future :thumbsup
simmonds was crap, softy as butter, gave us 1.5 good yrs, 3,5 yrs of crap
should never have been asked to stay on this yr, we would have been better off keeping patto
-
Should be conviced to stay on until the year for 2 reasons
1) If we get any injuries to our young rucks then we'll be screwed as we don't have much depth
2) Would rather he went onto the LTIL like Johnson did so we can elevate Gourdis
Is Gourdis good enough though?
Given the amount of BOG's and times he's been named in the bests at Coburg you'd have to suggest he deserves a go.
Especially when you also take into account the top job he did on Franklin when he was tearing us apart during the NAB Cup, pretty much kept him out of the game after he went onto him
Fair enough! Why have we not elevated him earlier then? Seems a little unfair that RR gets elevated in front of him!
In hindsight it was a mistake, however we had to nominate the rookies to replace our veterans before the season started. We could't have known he'd got those BOGs before they happened.
-
yep its all so easy in hindsight isnt it?
-
:birthday :santa :cheers :thumbsup :clapping :gotigers :woohoo
-
Tiger Simmonds calls time
richmonfc.com.au
By Luke Holmesby
Thu 27 May, 2010
RICHMOND ruckman Troy Simmonds has announced his retirement from football, signalling his intention to play his final AFL match against the Saints in round 11.
This means that Simmonds, who will not travel to Adelaide as part of the Tigers outfit to take on the Power on Saturday, will finish his career on a total of 197 matches.
But the ruckman was dismissive of missing out on reaching the 200 games milestone, and said he would leave the game on the best of terms.
"I've got no regrets. I'm really proud of what I've achieved and really it's just a number, whether it's 197 or 200. The timing was right for the club," he said on Thursday morning.
"I've decided the time is now for me to step down and it is really a great opportunity for our three young ruckmen in Ty [Vickery], Angus [Graham] and Andrew Browne."
Simmonds was drafted by Melbourne at pick No.9 in the 1999 pre-season draft after impressing for VFL side Box Hill and played in a grand final in just his second year of football.
The Demons lost to Essendon by 60 points, and Simmonds’ part in the match is best remembered for the bone-jarring hit he received from Essendon legend Michael Long that saw him stretchered off the field in a neck brace.
Simmonds played 40 games for the Demons before he was traded to Fremantle at the end of 2001.
He finished fifth in Fremantle’s best and fairest in his first year, during which he formed a strong ruck partnership with Aaron Sandilands, but after 75 games and 58 goals with Fremantle, Simmonds was on the move again to Richmond at the end of 2004.
He arrived at the Tigers as part of a three-way trade that saw Heath Black return to Fremantle from St Kilda and Aaron Fiora leave Richmond for the Saints.
Simmonds signed a five-year deal with his new club, arriving at the same time as new coach Terry Wallace.
He quickly assumed the mantle of No.1 ruckman at Richmond and finished third in the club’s best and fairest in 2006.
Things took a turn for the worse in 2007 when he was struck down by a blood clot in his lung, but he returned to play every game in 2008. During that season he represented Victoria in the Hall of Fame Tribute Match against the Dream Team.
Simmonds earned the nickname ‘Snake’ because of his fascination with reptiles and the fact he collected several pet snakes.
Simmonds has battled through a knee injury to play six games this year.
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/95091/default.aspx
-
I have bagged Simmo at games a bit this year, unfairly I must admitt.
Injury caught up, Snake was a serviceable to goodish player for us and served us well - good luck Troy :cheers, 'even though you wouldn't read these forums' and who could blame you! some real mental pygmies around these parts. :gotigers
-
He was part of the deal that got Aaron Fiona out of the club, so he's ok in my books.
He was a capable player a couple of years ago, the last year and a half has really hurt how we remember him.
-
I'm not into attacking our players.
I'll leave it at I'm glad to see Simmonds is gone.
-
Not into bagging Simmo but really he should have retired at the end of last year or the club should have made the decision for him.
-
Reportedly he wanted to and Hardwick talked him into one more year.
-
Simmo on SEN just before with Hartford. I may have misheard as I had the radio in the background but i thought Simmo said he thought with our young ruck division it was important to be down there and so didn't really consider retirement even though Richo, Browny, Sugar had retired.
* Enjoyed working with Hardwick and the all the other coaches. He reckons we're on the right track.
* Has the option to stay on after his last game to help with the education of Vickery, Gus and Browne. He's got Vickery also into martial arts once a week.
* He's learnt a lot since Dimma has come on board. Zones etc were all new to him :o.
* The knee was a battle every week to get up. Couldn't train as much as he wanted to and needed to for him to play at his best.
* Inside the club - tough but you learn about yourself and the people around you. Just missed the finals over those 5 years and now we're down the bottom. It's tough but he enjoyed it and took a lot out of it.
* Young list at the moment that's starting to improve all the time.
* Most annoying blokes at the club - Jack and Rance (laughs).
* Best part of footy is the 10 minutes after a win with your arms around your teammates and with the supporters.
-
Perspective earned the hard way
richmondfc.com.au
By Luke Holmesby
Thu 27 May, 2010
IT WAS late 2007 when Troy Simmonds was a strong chance to lose more than just his football career.
Simmonds was discovered to have a blood clot in his lungs and was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism - a condition that could have been fatal.
Three years later, Simmonds has made a full recovery from the condition and his biggest health concern is the knee injury that has brought upon his mid-season retirement.
Many footballers struggle with the concept of life after football, but speaking on Thursday morning, Simmonds said he was lucky to have a life at all.
“I had that life-threatening cardio vascular event back in 2007 and faced a less than 10 per cent chance of living at that time. That changed my whole outlook on life,” he said.
“I had no idea what pulmonary embelism was at the time. I was just ready to get back out there and play. It really did set me back and it was a wake-up call. It showed we’re not bullet proof and you can’t take anything for granted in life.
“I learnt a lot about myself and that is what footy has done. It has been a great training ground for me. I said to the boys this morning it has given me a great vehicle to really learn about myself as a player, as a person and in a team environment.”
Simmonds has no lingering problems from his near-death episode and says the shock of it all helped him reassess what was important in life.
“Since 2008, I’ve been fine but it gave me a bit of a wake-up call to make sure I know my body really well and I do things a little differently to what I had in terms of what I eat,” he said.
“I got told that if it happened again my footy career would be over and I’d have to be on a drug for the rest of my life.”
Simmonds will play his last game against St Kilda next week but says he hopes to play some role in guiding Richmond’s young ruckmen Angus Graham, Ty Vickery and Andrew Browne for at least the rest of the season.
“ I’ve got a good relationship with a lot of the boys and I will help the young rucks where I can. I’m there if they want chat," he said.
"The other thing I weighed up was life after footy. I’ve got some things going on and and I’ve got a business in helping other people. I’m writing a book with a business partner that will hopefully be released at the end of the year."
Asked what his fondest memories of life as an AFL player would be, Simmonds took no time to identify a feeling that has been few and far between at Punt Rd in recent times.
“I said this morning to the boys, it’s the winning feeling. That first ten minutes after a game when you are arm-in-arm with the boys and thanking the supporters walking off the ground and singing the song,” he said.
“A lot of the young guys out here today haven’t experienced it yet but it’s just an amazing feeling when you win a game of football. I will take those memories with me.”
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/95101/default.aspx
-
Made the right decison. Good luck to him in his retirement
-
* He's learnt a lot since Dimma has come on board. Zones etc were all new to him :o.
Good lord :o and some still want to call Wallet a master tactician & good match day coach?
-
Simmo on 3aw just after 7pm tonight repeated his comment about learning about zones first under Dimma :o
* He's got Vickery doing martial arts to improve Ty's flexibility and balance.
* Freo had all the facilities compared to Richmond's old clubrooms but he loved coming back to a traditional club.
* Richmond's history is no burden. It's been a long time since 1980 but he truly believes the Club is on the right track and has great people down there.
-
* He's learnt a lot since Dimma has come on board. Zones etc were all new to him :o.
Good lord :o and some still want to call Wallet a master tactician & good match day coach?
Says alot about the Dried Sultana. Eye opening indeed.
-
Simmo was a cunning player and in his day, pre near death embulism and other injuries was pretty good. I hope he can pass some of his little tricks on like using his body to take out a pack and tapping down to our crumbing forward lol. I heard he is staying on to help out a bit which is great.
-
Oh what Shock Simmonds going to retire
such old news move on please. cya Simmo,
club made another mistake of getting you to playon when you wanted to retire last season.
Bad Decision still being made :banghead
-
Oh what Shock Simmonds going to retire
such old news move on please. cya Simmo,
club made another mistake of getting you to playon when you wanted to retire last season.
Bad Decision still being made :banghead
"Simmo said he thought with our young ruck division it was important to be down there and so didn't really consider retirement even though Richo, Browny, Sugar had retired. "
-
Oh what Shock Simmonds going to retire
such old news move on please. cya Simmo,
club made another mistake of getting you to playon when you wanted to retire last season.
Bad Decision still being made :banghead
"Simmo said he thought with our young ruck division it was important to be down there and so didn't really consider retirement even though Richo, Browny, Sugar had retired. "
Well he was talking retirement mid season last year. Heard it myself ;D l even mentioned it last year his leg can't recover from one week to the next.