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Simona / Salary cap

Tiger05

First Grade
Messages
9,162
To bad for the idiot that he didn't appreciate that he was in a very privileged position as an elite sportsmen who was paid well & lauded by sycophantic groupies who inflate the egos of ingrates like him.

f**k him how can anyone have sympathy for a prick who betrayed us in the worst way possible & is bereft of a moral compass !

There's a reasonable likelihood this scumbag cost us a spot in the 8 last yr & if not well the evidence demonstrates by his unforgivable misdeeds that he did his best to ensure we wouldn't play finals footy !

They said it was something like $600 worth of best. It's a pittance for him and assuming he had a gambling problem it was probably just random bets. I think it was more dumb than a betrayal.

I think the biggest issue was the selling of jerseys for charity when the charity was the Tim Simona gambling fund.
 

madunit

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
62,358
Please dont take this the wrong way -
Firstly I am glad hes gone - the game is trying to be as clean as possible, which is great and given we are probably due something stupid from Dogs fans this year, lets try and keep it as clean as possible.

The concern was not that he auctioned items for charity and didnt give them the money.
The charity in question said they were surprised with the low level of donation.

So from the outset, he was going to auction some stuff off and donate a portion to charity.

This is very very common.

You guys knows the "kids with cancer" guys that raffle off cars in shopping centres?

I used to date a girl that worked for the major children's cancer charity in Australia and she told me this car raffle company was a private company and donated a "portion" of their gains to Children's cancer.

Nowhere in their stands do they use the word "portion"

The same thing does for the guy that has backbackers selling the foam Raindeer ears at Christmas.

Im only saying this as my view is yeah he did the wrong thing, but he has been punished for it. He shouldn't be vilified for doing something that others do routinely.

Is it dodgey - yeah, but hes paid the price - he's lost his livelihood.

Matter is closed - ets set up for a great year of making the 8 and winning the premiership.
I understand your point and agree.

However it is highly immoral. You pry on the sufferring of others and the hard work of charities so as to get money for yourself which is used nefariously.

Its all so very stupid given he made f**k all money out of all this dumb f**k behaviour.
 

Leigh Howlett

Juniors
Messages
661
I was a Tim Simona fan, when all this first came out I was of the understanding that he was backing himself in the bets, oh wow!, now we know the truth, who are these shady characters that have led him astray?, in hindsight without Simona backing the oppostition the Tiges would have made the 8 easily and made JT look like a coaching superstar when more than likely he's lucky to have a job this year.
 

madunit

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
62,358
Even dumber is that he backed his opposite number to score first.

Any smart man would back the other centre. Guaranteed collect every week.
 

Ron's_Mate

Bench
Messages
4,037
Please dont take this the wrong way -
Firstly I am glad hes gone - the game is trying to be as clean as possible, which is great and given we are probably due something stupid from Dogs fans this year, lets try and keep it as clean as possible.

The concern was not that he auctioned items for charity and didnt give them the money.
The charity in question said they were surprised with the low level of donation.

So from the outset, he was going to auction some stuff off and donate a portion to charity.

This is very very common.

You guys knows the "kids with cancer" guys that raffle off cars in shopping centres?

I used to date a girl that worked for the major children's cancer charity in Australia and she told me this car raffle company was a private company and donated a "portion" of their gains to Children's cancer.

Nowhere in their stands do they use the word "portion"

The same thing does for the guy that has backbackers selling the foam Raindeer ears at Christmas.

Im only saying this as my view is yeah he did the wrong thing, but he has been punished for it. He shouldn't be vilified for doing something that others do routinely.

Is it dodgey - yeah, but hes paid the price - he's lost his livelihood.

Matter is closed - ets set up for a great year of making the 8 and winning the premiership.

The difference would be that with the people raffling cars, they are doing that as their primary business. So, sleazy as it is (deceptive) they can claim some justification. For Simona, his primary business was getting paid well to play league, so when involved in a charity he should reasonably hand over 100% of the proceeds. Of course he's not the only one - look how Shane Warne scrambled and then finally shut down his "charity" once it was put under the microscope.
 

macnaz

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
8,331
The Sydney Morning Herald

RUGBY LEAGUETim Simona lifts lid on betting, drugs shameFACEBOOKSHARE EMAILEMAIL TWITTER WHATSAPP

March 12 2017 - 8:11AM

Police still circling Simona over fraud allegationsHow $600 worth of bets ended an NRL career

Disgraced former Wests Tigers centre Tim Simona has revealed how he used money he raised for charity to fund his drugs and gambling addictions.

Simona was deregistered by the NRL on Friday and handed an indefinite ban for betting on opponents in Tigers matches and also ripping off charities after auctioning off autographed jerseys.

In an explosive interview that could shake the NRL to it's core, Simona also told News Corp Australia, how he first took cocaine with Tigers teammates on a mad Monday boat
three years ago.

He said his habit spiralled out of control and was spending several thousands of dollars of his $325,000 a year salary every weekend on the drug and pokies machines.

"There was about six or seven of us," Simona said.

"We went to the toilets, and just snort a line pretty much. That was the first time I had ever touched drugs. From then on every time I would go out, I would start using it."

Simona said he never feared getting caught by drug testers despite buying up to five bags of cocaine a weekend and was tested as frequently as his Tigers teammates.

Banned: Tim Simona Photo: Jonathan Ng

"Actually I'd been tested quite a few times, and obviously I knew when to take it," he said.

"In the rep round when we had the weekend off I would take it or if there was a long turn around between games.

Rock bottom: Tim Simona has revealed his betting and drug habits. Photo: Brett Hemmings

"I would take it on a Friday so by Monday I think it would be out of my system."

Simona confessed to auctioning off at least 12 jerseys and keeping the money.

He was assisted by his ex-girlfriend, Jaya Taki, who text messages show was complicit in him raising funds for a foundation in memory of her dead brother.

Taki denies pocketing any of the proceeds.

"I'm so ashamed of what I've done," Simona said.

"It shows how low you'll go to get money. One jersey turned into five jerseys which turned into like eight, nine jerseys.

"There are no excuses. All I can do is give them the money when I get back on my feet."

His spiralling losses from pokies led to him asking his then girlfriend Jaya Taki to set up a betting account in her name and placed 65 bets on NRL matches - several involving the Tigers.

However, he denies any type of match fixing, insisting his teammates know that he never gave less than 100 per cent whenever he played.

"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."

AAP

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macnaz

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
8,331
The team 3 years ago.

1. James Tedesco, 2. David Nofoaluma, 3. Tim Simona, 4. Chris Lawrence, 5. Pat Richards, 6. Braith Anasta, 7. Luke Brooks, 8. Aaron Woods, 9. Robbie Farah (c), 10. Keith Galloway, 11. Adam Blair, 12. Curtis Sironen, 13. Liam Fulton. Interchange: 14. Martin Taupau, 15. Ben Murdoch-Masila, 16. Jack Buchanan, 17. Bodene Thompson

Way to go Tim , dob in your team mates and also add further negative attention to the club.
 
Last edited:
Messages
3,211
Agree 100% macnaz.

The fact that Simona states how he good involved 3 years ago on mad Monday 'There was about six or seven of us' what a foolish thing to say to a journalist, places a question mark over everyone who had contact with the group on that mad Monday from team mates, etc and their respective reputations.

Plenty of spite by the former girlfriend to post plenty on facebook.

I do wonder if the club took their 'eyes off the ball' last year though, plenty of stuff going on and plenty driven from the football office e.g. O'Neill himself and Taylor with the Farah saga.
 

Tiger Woody

Juniors
Messages
1,630
Agree 100% macnaz.

The fact that Simona states how he good involved 3 years ago on mad Monday 'There was about six or seven of us' what a foolish thing to say to a journalist, places a question mark over everyone who had contact with the group on that mad Monday from team mates, etc and their respective reputations.

Plenty of spite by the former girlfriend to post plenty on facebook.

I do wonder if the club took their 'eyes off the ball' last year though, plenty of stuff going on and plenty driven from the football office e.g. O'Neill himself and Taylor with the Farah saga.

Going thru that Macnaz list of players hard to know who the players could have been..
Only one that stands out to me is a lightweight lock who always seemed a few sandwiches short of a picnic and always very hypo.
Maybe players from reserve grade?
Simona when interviewed,never hit me as being a very smart individual.
Hes ruined his life...
 

Tiger Woody

Juniors
Messages
1,630
Agree 100% macnaz.

The fact that Simona states how he good involved 3 years ago on mad Monday 'There was about six or seven of us' what a foolish thing to say to a journalist, places a question mark over everyone who had contact with the group on that mad Monday from team mates, etc and their respective reputations.

Plenty of spite by the former girlfriend to post plenty on facebook.

I do wonder if the club took their 'eyes off the ball' last year though, plenty of stuff going on and plenty driven from the football office e.g. O'Neill himself and Taylor with the Farah saga.

Dont be fooled...
The club knew exactly what was going on with Lyall Lovett and Simona.
Thats why they were shopped around..
Seems like Simona was on 325k a year contract
 
Messages
14,028
Even dumber is that he backed his opposite number to score first.

Any smart man would back the other centre. Guaranteed collect every week.

To be fair, our right side defence is dire, backing someone to run through them is a pretty safe bet.
 

Das Hassler

Bench
Messages
2,960
Put a microphone under someone's chin and they're guarded in what they say but a good journalist can have the subject completely forget who they are talking to....after a few coffees or beers they are just talking in private with a new friend...step into my parlour said the spider to the fly...
 

Tiger Woody

Juniors
Messages
1,630
Put a microphone under someone's chin and they're guarded in what they say but a good journalist can have the subject completely forget who they are talking to....after a few coffees or beers they are just talking in private with a new friend...step into my parlour said the spider to the fly...
wouldnt be hard to put one over Simona...Not the sharpest tool in the shed.
 

Das Hassler

Bench
Messages
2,960
Yep...and now he's not even in the shed. As he said he hid the extent of his problems from people but i have to wonder about his management...what do these guys manage for their not long out of school clients beyond the contract negotiations....seemingly not too much
 

madunit

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
62,358
I think people are missing that the likelihood of Simona bringing cocaine to a mad monday, having never used it before, is a bit odd. Someone had to supply it.
 

phenisha

Juniors
Messages
206
I think people are missing that the likelihood of Simona bringing cocaine to a mad monday, having never used it before, is a bit odd. Someone had to supply it.

well if you went to the corporate events you could pretty much guess who was doing it...
 
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