Simon Gillies 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 who played in the 1980s and 1990s. An Australia national and New South Wales state representative forward, he played his club football in Sydney for the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...

(with whom he won the

1995 ARL Premiership The 1995 ARL premiership was the 88th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League following the hand-over of the Premiership's administration by the New South Wales Rugby Leagu ...

), as well as in England for the

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

. His older brother

Ben Gillies Benjamin David Gillies (born 24 October 1979) is an Australian musician, best known as the drummer of Australian rock band Silverchair from 1992 until the band went on hiatus in 2011. In 2003, Gillies formed Tambalane with Wes Carr, initially a ...

also played for Canterbury-Bankstown.

Playing career

Gillies made his first grade debut for Canterbury in the major semi final against Cronulla-Sutherland which Canterbury won 26-8 at the

Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...

. Gillies was not selected in Canterbury's 1988 grand final team which defeated Balmain in the decider. In 1993, Gillies played from the bench in Canterbury's preliminary final loss against eventual premiers the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

. Gillies was selected to play for Canterbury-Bankstown from the reserve bench in their 1994 Grand Final loss to the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

. Gillies played as a for Canterbury in their 1995 Grand Final victory over

Manly-Warringah 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 ...

. He was named as Canterbury's replacement captain following

Terry Lamb Terence John Lamb (born 15 September 1961), also nicknamed "Baa", is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played 350 games, with the Western Suburbs (1980–1983) and Canterbury (1984–1996). Lamb was known for his su ...

's retirement at the end of 1996. Gillies represented Australia at the 1996

Super League World Nines The Super League World Nines (known as the ''Gatorade Super League World Nines'' due to sponsorship), was a pre-season rugby league nines tournament between national sides. Set up in the midst of the Super League war and created in opposition to t ...

. In 1997 he was selected for the

New South Wales rugby league team The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the ann ...

during the

Super League Tri-series The Super League Tri-series was an international rugby league football tournament contested in 1997 between Queensland, New South Wales, and New Zealand representative rugby league teams. It was run by the breakaway Super League organisation as an a ...

. Gillies final season for Canterbury was in 1998. He played 14 games throughout the year for the club but did not play in the finals series or the 1998 NRL Grand Final loss to the

, however, he did finish his career with Canterbury on a high, scoring two tries in their reserve grade Grand Final victory over the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

26-22.

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...

came back from 22-0 down. Gillies was known for his toughness and heart in an 11 year career with his boyhood club. Gillies played a total of 227 games across all grades for Canterbury.

References

External links

Bulldogs Profile
http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/simon-gillies/summary.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillies, Simon Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players 1969 births Living people Warrington Wolves players New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league locks Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players