Former Wests Tigers player Tim Simona on verge of rugby league return
Two years after being kicked out of the NRL for gambling offences there is now an opportunity for Tim Simona to return to the thing he loves the most.
Two years after he was kicked out of the NRL for gambling offences, the door has been slightly opened for former Wests Tigers star Tim Simona to make a comeback.
The NRL integrity unit told Simona’s manager Sam Ayoub last week they would not stand in his way of playing in lower grade competitions like the Canterbury (NSW) Cup or Ron Massey Cup.
It would be a similar pathway to which Wests Tigers forward Russell Packer took when he was allowed to return to the game in 2015 in NSW Cup via the Illawarra Cutters after completing a 12-month jail sentence for assault.
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The 27-year-old Simona road to redemption has been impressive in charity work and his job assisting with handicapped kids.
NSWRL chief executive Dave Trodden is now awaiting official approval from the NRL.
“From a review of the material, it appears to me that Tim has learnt a substantial lesson from the mistakes which caused him to be deregistered from the NRL,” Trodden said.
“When a player breaches the rules of our game, there must be consequences for the player and the player must accept those consequences.
“Equally, our game has a history of assisting in the successful rehabilitation of players and where appropriate, our organisation has played a role in this regard in the past.
“We have written to the NRL and we are awaiting a response.”
When contacted by the Sunday Telegraph, an NRL spokesman said it was a matter for the State Leagues to determine whether they are prepared to register Simona for the second tier competitions.
Simona, who made his NRL debut with Wests Tigers in 2011, played 79 first grade matches and scored 27 tries. He has also played five Test matches for Samoa.
Simona confessed to betting on games, cocaine use, ripping off a children’s charity and deceiving not only his Wests Tigers team mates but the code’s drug enforcers.
The 25-year-old admits the money that was supposed to aid sick children from auctioning autographed Wests Tigers jerseys went into his own pockets to feed his shocking gambling addiction and drug use.
A bitter falling out with ex-girlfriend Jaya Taki, following an abortion, led her to expose his match betting which resulted in the NRL seizing her mobile phone and hundreds of damning text messages between the pair.
He lost thousands of dollars every week in pubs and clubs across Sydney, disguising himself under a hoodie to blend in with the other punters.
But it was his betting on matches that brought his gambling to the fore.
The NRL integrity unit found from mobile phone records and betting statements that he placed bets on St George Illawarra stars Benji Marshall and Adam Quinlan to score against his own team.
They didn’t.
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