Troy Simmonds

Troy Simmonds
Troy Simmonds
	Simmonds in May 2011
Personal information
Full name	Troy Simmonds
Date of birth	13 July 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth	Melbourne, Australia
Original team(s)	Box Hill (VFL)
Draft	No. 9, 1999 pre-season draft:; Melbourne
Height	197 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight	99 kg (218 lb)
Position(s)	Ruck / forward
Club information
Current club	Richmond
Number	5
Playing career1
Years	Club
1999 – 2001	Melbourne
2002 – 2004	Fremantle
2005 – 2010	Richmond
Total
Representative team honours
Years	Team
2008	Victoria
	1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2010.
Career highlights
	AFL Grand Final appearance: 2000;
	Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Troy Simmonds (born 13 July 1978) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne, Fremantle and Richmond in the Australian Football League.

AFL career

Melbourne: 1999 – 2001

Simmonds was first drafted by Melbourne in the 1999 pre-season draft. He played only five 5 games in 1999 but then played 22 in 2000, including the Grand Final, during which he was carried from the field on a stretcher following a head-on charge by Essendon's Michael Long.^[1]

Fremantle: 2002 – 2004

In 2002 he was traded to Fremantle as part of a three way trade that included Daniel Bandy moving to the Western Bulldogs and Craig Ellis moving to Melbourne.^[2] This was seen as a chance for Simmonds to become Fremantle's main ruckman, as opposed to being Jeff White's understudy at Melbourne.^{[citation needed]} In three seasons at Fremantle Simmonds played in 64 out of a possible 67 games, including Fremantle's first ever finals game in 2003.

Richmond: 2005 – 2010

At the end of the 2004 season, Simmonds was traded back to Victoria, again in a three-way deal, with Heath Black returning to Fremantle, Aaron Fiora moving to St Kilda and Simmonds moving to Richmond.^[3] In a move surprising to many, Simmonds signed a five-year deal with the Tigers, as opposed to the usual two or three-year contracts.^[4] After a serviceable first year with Richmond, Simmonds played some of the best football of his career in 2006 - taking several big marks and scoring several goals up forward.^{[citation needed]} At the end of 2009 Simmonds signed a one-year contract for the 2010 season.^[5] Prior to Round 10, 2010, Simmonds announced his retirement.^[6]

References

^ Short, Paul (2 September 2000). "Essendon crash Melbourne's party". The Independent. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
^ Lovett, Michael, ed. (2002). AFL 2002. Melbourne, Victoria: AFL Publishing. p. 333. ISBN 0-9580300-0-6.
^ Greenberg, Tony (9 October 2012). "Top 20 Tiger trade pick-ups: No. 19". Richmond Football Club. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
^ Simmonds deserves more credit: Wallace; The Age; 16 February 2006
^ Smith, Patrick & Denham, Greg (3 July 2009) Sheedy's new pitch welcomed; The Australian
^ "Simmonds hangs up boots". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2017.