For Julz - click to enlarge lol
Top billing
Ben Collins
AFL Record
Troy Simmonds' best mate was killed nine months ago. Last October, Luke North, a close friend of the Richmond ruckman since childhood, died instantly in a tragic head-on collision with a truck. While October is generally the only time of year AFL players can enjoy the fruits of their labour, Simmonds was in a deep state
of mourning.
"It was a devastating blow," Simmonds reveals. "We went to school together from the age of 12 and have been really close mates ever since."
North was living in Hawkesdale, near Warrnambool, and, according to Simmonds, "was into agriculture and farming and doing really well for himself." North was a decent footballer himself – he was captain-coach of the local club, Hawkesdale-Macarthur, where he was also a best-and-fairest winner.
"The hardest thing to come to terms with is that Luke was young and in his prime and had so much to live for, but it was all taken away from him so quickly," Simmonds laments.
"When something tragic like that happens, especially when you lose someone who's so close to you, it forces you to reassess your own life and where you're going. It reinforces the need to work hard at everything you do, and make the most out of everything.
"I think about Luke a lot, and reflect on the person he was and the times we had. I often think about him on match-days when I'm going to the footy. I don't want any regrets. I want to do all I can with my opportunity."
Simmonds is doing just that. Last week's Richmond-Port Adelaide clash at AAMI Stadium is a case in point.
Richmond coach Terry Wallace had privately billed it 'The Heavyweight Rucking Title of Australia' – a primed Simmonds going toe-to-toe, and tap-for-tap, with ultra-consistent Power giant Brendon Lade.
For the previous month, Wallace had publicly lauded Simmonds as the Tigers' MVP so far this season, even suggesting the big southpaw was the best ruckman in the competition. Wallace used the contest with Lade to heighten the arousal levels of a big man who means big things to the Tigers.
"Leading into the Port game," Simmonds says, "Terry basically told me: 'You've got a great opportunity to ruck against Lade, who's been in great form all year.' I used his words as a bit of a motivational tool.
"I tried not to get too distracted by it, but I was on edge and really looking forward to playing against a very good player. We got the result we wanted and I went OK."
"OK" translates into 12 kicks, seven marks, two handballs, 15 hit-outs and two crucial goals against the daunting ruck double-act of Lade and Dean Brogan. Typically, Simmonds palmed some credit to young Tiger ruckman Adam Pattison.
"A great thing about Adam is he's got such a big engine that he really runs the opposition around and blows them up, which is great for when I go back in the ruck," Simmonds says.
It also allows Simmonds to go forward – he has kicked 18 goals in 14 games this year, including two threes and three twos.
"I aim to kick at least a goal a game," he says. "With the game getting quicker, the big, loping ruckman is starting to drop out of the game a bit. If you can only play one position, you might struggle. You need to be versatile. You're more damaging if you're mobile like a Dean Cox, who's like an extra midfielder and can go forward and kick goals."
Of his claims to dethrone Cox as the All-Australian ruckman, Simmonds says: "It's good to strive for something like that, but I don't go into games thinking about it. What really matters is the team perspective, and we want to play finals footy."
While he is a key to the Tigers' finals hopes, Simmonds, who turned 28 on Thursday, is taking a longer-term view.
"I'm at an age where it's I should be hitting my straps," he says.
"I'm doing all I can to do that, I'm playing the best footy of my career, and the confidence is there. As long as the body stands up, I don't see any reason why I can't keep playing good, consistent footy.
"I don't want to have just one good year. I want to be a consistent player from year to year. That's why Peter Everitt is such a good player; he's done it for at least five years."
Five years ago, Simmonds hadn't long stopped growing.
"I started really growing when I was 18," he says. "I grew about six inches (15cm) in a year and didn't stop until I was 20-21. That's why I was such a tall, skinny kid when I started at Melbourne – I was still growing into my body. Big guys take longer to reach their physical peak, and I reckon I'm just about there now. My body's just about in the ideal shape that I want it in."
Considering his form, it's amazing to ponder that Simmonds just scraped on to Melbourne's rookie list as a teenager. At the end of 2001, after 40 games in three seasons, he left the Demons for Fremantle because he didn't want to spend his entire career as an understudy to Jeff White.
Three years and 64 serviceable games later, homesickness became too much for Simmonds and Richmond signed him to a controversial five-year contract.
Controversial due to a belief that such long-term contracts are fraught with danger for clubs. The subsequent pressure, much of it self-induced, resulted in an inconsistent debut season for Simmonds at Punt Road. It also didn't help that he was too heavy to play his best football.
"I was playing more as a key forward where you need power," he says, "but I got too heavy to play ruck. I couldn't cover the ground. I blew up too early in games."
Simmonds responded by shedding 4kgs over pre-season to drop to 99kgs and regained his mobility.
"I'd developed my speed at Freo, and didn't want to lose that," he says, "so I worked with a sprinter friend of mine, Adam Basil (a member of Australia's 4 x 100m relay team at Athens). I improved my speed off the mark and over 20 metres. That's one of my strengths for my size.
"I also did a lot more longer, interval running with our midfielders to boost my endurance. Being at my prime weight, I got back that running capacity and mobility, which has been a real key."
Simmonds is also working with former Essendon ruckman Steve Alessio.
"He's been fantastic for me," Simmonds says. "I played against Steve, and he's played against all the ruckmen going around now. He rucked differently to the way I do, so he brings another angle to things. As a ruckman, you can't rely on doing the one thing the whole time, otherwise you'll be too predictable. You have to vary it. I'm still learning, so I've still got plenty of improvement left."
