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.

Simona was deregistered by the NRL on Friday and handed an indefinite ban. He sat down with Phil Rothfield to finally tell the truth.

THE GAMBLING

Simona started betting when he was 18, mainly on poker machines but more recently on rugby league games.

Between March and August last year, he had 65 bets on matches totalling $905.

Of those 65 bets he backed a winner only once – the day he put $10 on himself at odds of $18 to score two or more tries in the round 17 game against the Penrith Panthers in July.

LISTEN AS TIM SIMONA TELLS BUZZ ROTHFIELD ABOUT HIS DRUG ADDICITION AND HOW HE RIPPED OFF CHARITIES

But this was nothing compared to the money he butchered on poker machines and a cocaine addiction.

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.

“I could lose four or five grand in a weekend,” he said of his gambling.

“I’d lose a grand, and then two grand on the Saturday, I’d try and chase it up and get it back on the Sunday.

“Once you lose something big, you want to try and get it back, and then you just dig yourself into a deeper hole.

“I never wanted to discuss it with anyone. I was too ashamed, too embarrassed, I didn’t want anyone to know.

“Every time I walked past a pub or was waiting for a train I’d play the machines,” he said.

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.

Match videos The Sunday Telegraph and integrity unit have studied give no hint that he did anything unusual on the field to suit his betting patterns.

His bets were placed in an account that had been opened in the name of his then girlfriend Jaya Taki to avoid detection with corporate bookmaker Sportsbet.

In July he also backed the Bulldogs to win 1-12 against his own Wests Tigers team in a multi-bet with himself to be the first try scorer.

“When you’re gambling and when you’re desperate you don’t even think about what you’re betting on. You know the consequences but you still do it. That’s the disease and the addiction.

“It was so dumb and so stupid”.

THE LOSSES

It’s been a costly carnage. Probably hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Simona was being paid $325,000 a year at the Wests Tigers.

He has nothing to show for it. Not even a car.

He lives with his mum, dad and family in a $560 a week rented house in Macquarie Fields, in Sydney’s south west.

He pays the rent and supports the family.

He has no car because he lost his licence for five years in 2012 for repeated speeding infringements and getting caught driving while disqualified on the way home from a Wests Tigers training session.

The judge warned him next time he’ll go to jail. He travels by train or gets a lift with friends.

It is surprising no-one at the Wests Tigers suspected there was a problem.

He has on four occasions he asked for and had been given advance payments on his contract when he had lost all his money or had to pay urgent bills.

His manager Isaac Moses knew Simona had a problem handling cash but could do little about it.

Moses set up a plan where his football earnings would go into a separate bank account and his player would be paid a salary.

It lasted only two months because Simona kept asking him for money.

“I was out of control,” Simona said.

“I was throwing away money. I didn’t realise how big my problem was until I got caught.”

HOW THE SCANDAL UNFOLDED

Tim Simona had the same betting habits as any casual rugby league punter.

He liked first tryscorers, margin-betting and his average bet size was under $15.

Between round four last year (the Wests Tigers against the Parramatta Eels) and round 21 (the Roosters against the Broncos), the NRL star placed a total of 65 bets on games.

All up he outlaid $905 in a Sportsbet account that had been opened in the name of his ex-girlfriend to avoid detection.

This was nothing like the money he butchered on poker machines and cocaine use but a complete breach of the NRL’s rules for a player, especially betting on opponents.

The most concerning bets for the NRL were in the Round 20 game against St George Illawarra at ANZ Stadium when he backed two opposition players to score the first try.

Betting records show he put $10 on Dragons pair Benji Marshall and Adam Quinlan to score the opening try but increased his odds by combining the bets with the Wests Tigers to win by 13 plus.

The Wests Tigers won 25-12 but Kurt Mann scored the opening try for St George Illawarra.

Simona and the opponent he backed, Quinlan, played in the centres that day but a check of the match video shows they were on opposite sides of the field.

So it was always highly unlikely Simona would be in a position to intentionally miss a tackle on the players he had backed.

Although the following text message exchange with his then partner before the game was of huge concern to the integrity unit.

Jaya: Why you choosing that guy (Quinlan) to score first?

Simona: I’m marking him lol. If I let him.

Jaya: What does that mean? Oh he will be opposite you?

Simona: Yes.

JayaOhhhhh.

Simona: You think.

Jaya: Hmmm dangerous.

Simona: Yep.

Jaya: This is legit match-fixing now.

Asked about the text messages and the bets, Simona said:

“I know it looks bad. It was just dumb, stupid. When you’re gambling and when you’re desperate you don’t even think about what you’re betting on.

“You know the consequences but you still do it. That’s the disease and the addiction.

“I would never let an opposition player score if I was there. Never. Never. Bets mean nothing when I’m on the field. I would never let me teammates down. The Wests Tigers jersey meant everything to me and still does.”

Simona’s bets ranged in size from $5 to $50.

Of those 65 bets he backed a winner only once — the day he put $10 on himself at odds of $18 to score two or more tries in the round 17 game against the Penrith Panthers in July.

In that same game he also backed fullback James Tedesco to score the first try with his opponents the Panthers to win by 1-12.

The Wests Tigers won the game 34-26 and Tedesco missed out on the first try.

All bets were placed via the Sportsbet app on Simona’s own mobile phone.

On some weekends he had as many as eight bets different games.

The betting continued until he was secretly summoned to appear before the integrity unit on August 17 last year following a tip-off from his former girlfriend and a post on Facebook after their relationship ended.

So secret not even his manager Isaac Moses knew about it.

Simona attended the meeting with former Wests Tigers general manager Mark O’Neill but denied any knowledge of the Sportsbet account and told the integrity unit he never bet on rugby league.

He’s now admitted to be a liar.

The records show Simona was betting small but trying to win big.

His first bet in late March 2016 was $10 his team mate Sauaso Sue paying $61 to be first try scorer against the Parramatta Eels.

In that same game he put $20 on himself to be first try scorer.

The following week another $20 on himself to be first try scorer against the Cronulla Sharks.

He says his team mates and Wests Tigers officials had no idea what he was doing.

The only evidence was when the integrity unit downloaded all the Whats App messages in his former girlfriend’s mobile phone between March and August.

On March 25 Simona texted his girlfriend a number of times: “Can you create a account for sports bet so I can bet on the footy under your name cause I can’t lol.

“Whatever I use from your card I’ll pay you in cash. That sounds better, right?

They knew they were in dangerous territory.

Simona: “Imagine the coppers tracking what we say.”

Girlfriend: “I swear I was thinking that.”

Simona: “It’s a $30k fine and my career gone. It’s your account to I think I’m safe.”

At first the Wests Tigers centre had to instruct Jaya Taki on how to use the betting account.

“You’ll figure it out. Just find NRL head to head/Tigers v Parra/ first tryscorer, think I’m paying 18 bucks.”

By midway through the season he was using the account log on himself and placing the bets via his mobile phone.

There was serious concern about his text messages before the Wests Tigers played the Panthers on July 2. They discuss backing Wests Tigers winger Jordan Rankin.

Simona says: “His my winger — I’ll pass him the ball to score.”

Despite the damaging text messages, Simona insists throughout the interview he was playing to win every week. That once he ran onto the field, the gambling had no effect or on his performance.

Certainly videos The Sunday Telegraph and integrity unit have watched give no hint that he did anything unusual on the field to suit his betting patterns.

“I’m just embarrassed and ashamed,” he said.

“It was so dumb and so stupid. Importantly the players know I’d never be involved in match-fixing.

“They’ve all been texting me since it happened.

“They know what I did was wrong but they understand I always gave 100 per cent.”

THE BETS SIMONA PLACED

Grouped bets in the table below indicate wagers that were tied together in multis.