Steve Simpson's two tons of toughness
NOT surprisingly, Steve Simpson would prefer it if no one made a big deal of his impending 200th NRL game for the Knights.
Since his debut as a raw, rangy 19-year-old back-rower at Parramatta Stadium 10 years ago, humility and modesty have shared a place alongside toughness and tenacity as clearly identifiable Simpson trademarks.
The veteran of 13 Origin games for NSW and seven Tests for Australia will join an elite club against South Sydney at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Monday night when he becomes only the sixth person to play 200 first-grade games for the Knights.
Of the club's other double-centurions, Simpson played a handful of matches with Tony Butterfield and many more alongside 2001 grand final teammates Andrew Johns, Robbie O'Davis, Matt Gidley and Danny Buderus.
Rather than reflect on his own milestone, Simpson is more concerned about the importance of the game from a team perspective.
The Knights have lost three of their past four matches, including two in a row to the Eels and Warriors before last weekend's bye, and their inspirational pack leader reckons it is time to stop the rot.
"The blokes who have gone before me are all legends of the club and have done so well for the club, so yeah, certainly to be part of that company is something I'm very proud of," Simpson said yesterday.
"Monday night's a pretty important game for us as a club, coming off a couple of losses before the bye, but coming back to training today it looks like the boys are nice and fresh and bringing plenty of energy, which is exactly what we need.
"Coming through, I suppose you just want to do as well as you can and that's what I set out to do. I really didn't look at the bigger picture of what you can achieve you just keep your head down and keep going.
"I suppose something like this, it will be a great milestone . . . you don't think you're ever going to achieve, but to achieve it will be pretty special."
Simpson racked up his first 100 games from a possible 101, racing to triple figures in the early rounds of the 2003 season. The second hundred have been more of a crawl as a series of injuries slowed his progress, but he is not ready to be pensioned off just yet.
"I suppose the last year has been a little bit frustrating, but in saying that I'm feeling all right at the moment and certainly looking forward to Monday night's game and a good back end of the year and see if we can ruffle a few feathers," he said.
"I'm contracted until the end of next year, but we'll knock this year off first and do as well as we can, then I'll assess things and see how it's all going.
"If I'm still feeling all right, obviously I'd like to keep playing but there's a lot of games and a lot of things that can happen between here and then so I'll worry about that when it happens."
Though he has ticked all the boxes in the past 11 seasons, Simpson still has some mountains to climb.
Having played just seven games this season, he wants to stay healthy for the rest of this campaign and steer the Knights back to the finals after a three-year absence.
"I've been pretty lucky, but to be honest I'm not looking back too far," he said.
"There's some great memories there and some things and some games that you'll never forget, but I'm more about looking forward.
"We've got a pretty good squad here at the moment so if we can really pull together in the back end of the year, I think we've got something waiting to happen for us here as well.
"We've just got to put our head down, keep looking forward and keep working hard as a team, and there's plenty of other goals still to achieve."
Knights mentor Brian Smith said the big-hearted "boy from Broke" was a classic case of "what you see is what you get".
"His playing persona . . . is a reflection of his total persona," Smith said.
Former Knights coach Michael Hagan said Simpson in his prime was a devastating right-edge runner and smothering, stifling defender who was, and remains, a player who leads by example.
"The fact that he came in at such a young age and knocked out so many games so quickly says a lot about his toughness and his attitude, and typifies pretty much what the team and the town are about," Hagan said.
"He's very much that understated, knockabout sort of bloke who just goes about his business without too much fuss, and that's how he prefers it.
"I remember in that 2005 season, when we were struggling there at the start of the year, he was an absolute standout for us and I mentioned that almost every week. They ended up picking him [to start] in game two and game three of the Origin series, which NSW won.
"I think people within the game understand what he brings to the game, even if that sometimes goes unnoticed by others.
"He's very tough, he does the little things well, he always prepares very well, he's always doing his best, and you know what you're going to get from him every week. I don't know that you can say the same thing about some other players in our game."
Simpson hopes to be remembered as someone who never gave less than 100 per cent.
"That's what I've tried to do every week and I think that's one thing I'd like to think I've passed on," he said.
Herald
