Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
Roy Simmonds

Known as
Roy Simmonds

Nickname
Billy

Born
29 December 1928

Died
9 August 2008 (aged 79)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 21y 191d
Last game: 32y 212d

Height and weight
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 80 kg

Senior clubs
Hawthorn

Jumper numbers
Hawthorn: 27

Roy Simmonds

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
HawthornV/AFL1950-1961192780.4142%38
Total1950-1961192780.4142%38

AFL: 6,033rd player to appear, 731st most games played, 1,399th most goals kickedHawthorn: 412th player to appear, 43rd most games played, 78th most goals kicked

After arriving at Hawthorn from Cohuna, Roy Simmonds made his senior VFL debut in 1950. Immensely tough, durable and courageous, he went on to become one of the Hawks foremost footballers of the 1950s, although his career ended on a sour note when he failed to gain selection in the 1961 Grand Final-winning team. By that stage he had played 192 VFL games and kicked 78 goals, winning a club best and fairest award in 1956, and playing in a variety of different positions with equal effectiveness.

The majority of Simmonds' football, however, was played on a half back flank, where he was rugged, aggressive and extremely hard to beat. His distribution of the ball was sometimes slipshod, but the almost fanatical nature of his commitment to the team cause could never be doubted. Roy Simmonds played interstate football for the VFL on four occasions, all at the 1956 Perth carnival. In 2003 he was chosen as an interchange player in Hawthorn's official 'Team of the Century'.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.