Welfare push for Simona
A FORMER NRL teammate of Tim Simona believes the disgraced former star should be allowed back into rugby league – but not as a player.
News Corp Australia revealed yesterday that Panthers general manager Phil Gould had approached the NRL and his club’s board seeking to support the suspended Simona.
Simona was de- registered indefinitely by the NRL when found guilty of betting on matches, which included opposition players and teams.
He was also put on an 18month good behaviour bond after pocketing cash from the sale of jumpers, money that was meant to be donated to children’s charity Camp Quality.
Asked had the NRL reviewed Gould’s approach, an NRL spokesman said: “There has been no application made by the Panthers regarding Mr Simona.”
Ex- Wests Tigers teammate Beau Ryan said Simona should one day be permitted back into rugby league – but only as a welfare officer.
“I played a lot of footy with Tim Simona. He was obviously battling his demons away from rugby league. From my understanding, on face value with Tim Simona, he’s a good guy and a hard trainer,” Ryan told Macquarie Sports Radio.
“There’s people that get banned for betting on themselves and I don’t condone any of it but when you’re betting on opposition players not only are you letting yourself and your teammates down, you’re letting the fans down.”