David Simmons (born 6 December 1984) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer. He played for the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

and

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. He primarily played as a and .

Playing career

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Simmons a De La Salle junior made his debut for Cronulla in the

2003 NRL season The 2003 NRL premiership was the 96th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the sixth run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen teams competed, with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles returning in place of their failed joint ...

. In 2008, Simmons was part of the Cronulla side which made the preliminary final but lost to Melbourne 28–0.

Penrith Panthers

Simmons entered the

camp in 2010 with high expectations to be a new attacking weapon for the team, but once again Simmons injured his left shoulder in the trial match which resulted in him being sidelined until round 14. Simmons was finally able to represent Penrith in Round 15 of the NSW Cup, playing for the

Windsor Wolves The Windsor Wolves are a rugby league team based in the town of Windsor, New South Wales. The club fields both junior and senior teams in the Penrith District Rugby League competitions. The club has fielded teams in semi-professional, New South ...

. Simmons made his Penrith first grade debut against St. George Illawarra in round 17 of the

2010 NRL season The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 3 Octobe ...

scoring a try in Penrith's victory. In 2011, Simmons became a regular first grader for the

, playing mostly left wing, though occasionally filled in the fullback position. Simmons played 23 games and was Penrith's to try scorer with

Lachlan Coote Lachlan Coote (born 6 April 1990) is a Scotland and Great Britain international rugby league footballer who plays as a for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League. He played for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL, and was a member of the Nort ...

, scoring 12 tries. Simmons played 16 games for the

in 2012, but only scored two tries. Simmons at the 2013 Dally M Awards 2013-10-02 02-17

Simmons finished the

2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...

as the leagues equal leading try scorer for the regular season, having crossed for 19 tries for the Penrith club. He shared the award with David Williams of the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

and

James McManus } James "Jim" McManus (born March 22, 1951) is an American teacher, writer and poker player living in Kenilworth, Illinois. He is a professor in the Master of Fine Arts program for writers at the Art Institute of Chicago. Poker and ''Positi ...

of the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

Retirement

On 31 August, Simmons announced his retirement from rugby league at the end of the

2015 NRL season The 2015 NRL season was the 108th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 18th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, which was followed ...

. On 28 June 2015, Simmons scored four tries in Penrith's 35–12 victory over the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

Leichhardt Oval Leichhardt Oval is a rugby league and soccer stadium in Lilyfield, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently one of three home grounds for the Wests Tigers National Rugby League (NRL) team, along with Campbelltown Stadium and Western Sydney S ...

Personal life

Simmons is a Christian, becoming one after attending a youth group. He has been ordained as an Anglican minister, after completing a Bachelor of Theology part-time at

Moore Theological College Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The president of the Moore Theological College Council is ''ex officio'' t ...

, Sydney (2010-2015) and as a full-time student in 2015–2016. Simmons commenced as the Assistant Minister at Emu Plains Anglican Church in 2018, where he is currently serving the people of Western Sydney.

References

External links

2015 Penrith Panthers profileCronulla Sharks profileNRL profileSydney Anglicans David Simmons pageEmu Plains Anglican Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, David 1984 births Living people Australian rugby league players Penrith Panthers players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players Windsor Wolves players Rugby league wingers Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league centres Australian Anglicans People from the Sutherland Shire Rugby league players from Sydney