Robert 'Bob' Simunsen (born 7 June 1941, in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with Woodville in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL). A talented cricketer, he also played some

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

matches in the

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...

for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. Simunsen, a centreman, was with Woodville from their inaugural SANFL season in 1964. For the previous five years he had played for the club in the SANFL 'B' competition as Woodville, along with Central District, where required to serve an apprenticeship before being admitted. He won two

Reserves Magarey Medal The Reserves Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1906 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Reserves competition, as judged by field umpires. The a ...

s, in 1961 and 1962, and was also runner up in the award twice. When they joined the top flight in 1964, Simunsen was made captain and he won their 'Best and fairest' that year. He went on to win further 'Best and fairest' awards in 1965 and 1966, also finishing second in the 1966 Magarey Medal to

Ron Kneebone Ron Kneebone is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Norwood in the SANFL. He was named as a half back flanker in the official Norwood 'Team of the Century'. Kneebone debuted for Norwood in 1957 and was initially used up forw ...

. Simunsen represented South Australia at interstate football for the first time in 1965, against Victoria, and also appeared at the

1966 Hobart Carnival The 1966 Hobart Carnival was the 16th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It was the final time that Tasmania hosted a carnival. It was competed by two Victorian sides, one fr ...

. Although he didn't continue on as Woodville captain after the initial season, Simunsen had another stint in 1971. His four cricket matches came during the 1972/73 Sheffield Shield season where he played as a left-handed batsman, making 103 runs at 20.60. This included a half century on debut, against

John Benaud John Benaud (born 11 May 1944) is a former Australian cricketer. Benaud is the son of Louis and Irene Benaud. His only sibling was fellow cricketer Richie Benaud, who was older by 13 years. John is married to Lindsay Benaud with two children. ...

's New South Wales at the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

. Simunsen, batting in the same side as the Chappell brothers and Pakistani Test cricketer

Younis Ahmed Mohammad Younis Ahmed (born 20 October 1947) is a Pakistani former first-class cricketer who played in four Test matches and two One Day Internationals between 1969 and 1987. Primarily a middle-order batsman, he played first-class cricket f ...

, made 58 in his second innings before being bowled by

Kerry O'Keeffe Kerry James O'Keeffe (born 25 November 1949) is a former Australian cricketer and a current cricket commentator for Fox Sports. O'Keeffe played 24 Test matches and two One Day Internationals between 1971 and 1977. Playing career He was a spin ...

References

External links

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Cricinfo: Robert Simunsen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simunsen, Bob 1941 births Living people Woodville Football Club players Australian cricketers South Australia cricketers Australian rules footballers from Adelaide South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Cricketers from Adelaide