Simon Gillies

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Simon Gillies (born 4 December 1969) is a former Australian rugby league player who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A tough forward who usually played in the second row or lock, he spent most of his career with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and finished with Warrington Wolves in England.

In first grade, Gillies played 161 games for Canterbury from 1988 to 1998, scoring 23 tries (92 points). He finished with Warrington in 1999, playing 29 games and scoring 6 tries (24 points. In total, he played 190 first-grade games and scored 116 points. Across all Canterbury grades, he played 227 games.

Gillies represented New South Wales in the Super League era in 1997 (3 games, 2 tries) and NSW Country in 1992-93 (2 appearances). He also played for Australia at the 1996 Super League World Nines. He was part of Canterbury’s 1995 ARL Premiership-winning team and appeared in finals in 1988, 1993, and 1994, including a Grand Final loss in 1994 and a Grand Final win in 1995. Gillies served as Canterbury’s replacement captain after Terry Lamb retired in 1996. In his final Canterbury season (1998) he played 14 games; he did not play in the finals or the 1998 Grand Final, which Canterbury lost to Brisbane, but he finished on a high with a reserve-grade Grand Final victory over Parramatta as Canterbury came from 22-0 down. He is remembered for his toughness and heart, and his older brother Ben Gillies also played for Canterbury.