NRL 2022
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Oh shit it's not forced iso, maybe I am trapped in Groundhog Day
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A great effort, but very sad NRL-related news: Royce reveals Big Walk following dementia diagnosis
Story written by Neil Cadigan. Media outlets are welcome to republish all or part of this story, with credit to Neil Cadigan and Penrith Panthers.
Penrith Panthers’ favourite son Royce Simmons has revealed he has been diagnosed as suffering Alzheimer’s disease at age 61. Typically of the man known as ‘Simmo’, the footy legend wants to use news of his dilemma to enhance the lives of others rather than his own, with a fundraising walk from his hometown of Gooloogong to Penrith in May, coinciding with the Panthers’ home clash with North Queensland.
For a man whose memory is no longer his best friend, the moment Royce Simmons knew all was not right inside his head remains vivid in his mind.
‘Simmo' and wife of 40 years, Liane, had just arrived at seaside Kiama just south of Wollongong for a weekend away. Royce sat in the passenger seat with his left arm in a sling after a shoulder replacement as Liane walked to the cabin door with a bottle of wine and a bag of ice.
Royce said to her, “When did you buy that?”. Liane looked around, astonished, and replied, “We just stopped at the bottle shop; you sat in the car and watched me do it.” Simmo thought his wife “was talking the mickey” but she assured him she was serious.
With that, the seemingly unconquerable Panthers legend decided he better have his brain checked. Weeks later he was summoned by neurologist Dr Craig Presgrave to discuss the results of a series of scans that had been conducted at his Kingswood clinic.
“The doctor said, ‘You told me you’d had a few concussions over the years; there are a couple of white marks which may have been from the concussions,’ and I’m thinking, ‘That’s good; just a couple of marks from concussions’.
“Then he pointed to another part of the brain and said, ‘Around here, that’s all Alzheimer’s’. It was like someone had knocked me off my feet. The rest of the appointment is just a blur; I was so shocked, even though in the back of my mind I was worried something might show up.
“One of my first questions was, “Well how long before I won’t even know my family.”
Simmons is obviously aware that some may jump to conclusions and directly link his condition with concussions he suffered during his playing career but he says he has been given no evidence about the specific cause of his dementia.
And that’s the most pertinent point of Simmons going public with his condition. The cause, he says, is inconsequential.
What matters most to Simmons is shining a light on the impact of the insidious disease, particularly on the loved ones of those who are diagnosed.
He wants to use his plight to bring dementia into the public consciousness and raise much-needed funds for important research into the disease.
And that’s why he and Liane, with the support of Panthers, Dementia Australia and other partners, have organised the inaugural Royce's Big Walk fundraising event.
Simmons plans to walk almost 300 kilometres from his hometown of Gooloogong to the place in Penrith where his footy dreams were realised, now called BlueBet Stadium.
The walk will depart Gooloogong on Tuesday May 17 and Simmons will cross the finish line ahead of kick-off in the Panthers NRL game against the Cowboys on Friday May 27. The Panthers legend and several high profile supporters (who will walk with him) will conduct fundraising initiatives and hold events to support junior rugby league along the route.
Uppermost in Simmons’ mind since he received his medical prognosis has been his desire to be, as his condition worsens, a burden on others for as little – in magnitude and duration – as he can. And to do what has become second nature to the boy from the small town near Cowra, where his father was the local butcher – to enhance the lives of others.
Put the focus on them, not him.
When Simmo drove home from that appointment with Dr Presgrave in June last year, he broke down as soon as he walked in the door of their apartment in the Penrith retirement village named The Royce (yes, after him).
“I walked through the door, looked at Liane and just sort of lost it,” he recalled.
“But, just like I thought she’d be, Liane has been really strong and really supportive. She’s been wonderful, keeping me in check with my routine without ever being over the top.
“I told our kids next, which was hard obviously. That’s a big thing for me; I’m more worried about the people who look after me. I don’t want Liane wasting ten to fifteen years of her life because of my condition, or the kids coming to see me and feeling down because of what I’m like.
“It’s that sort of condition; you have all the stats about people who suffer from dementia or die from it but you’ve got to multiply that by 10 or 20 people who suffer as well alongside them.
“I want to help raise money for research as a mark of respect for the medical people who have worked so hard find a cure or a successful treatment and all those people who suffer watching a loved one go down the path of losing who they once were.”
Simmons’ other request is for people, now they know his situation, to treat him no differently than before.
“If they’re used to abusing me or taking the piss out of me, please keep doing it,” he laughs. “I’ve still got the capability of biting back, don’t worry.”
He had told only some of those closest to him, thinking it was best to put the seed in different 'pockets’ of his groups of footy mates and family or business friends. He takes medication daily and has followed medical advice and kept his life as routine and active as it had been, albeit dropping his alcohol intake and increasing his daily exercise.
He has fortunately deteriorated little, if at all, in the past 12 months (he is due for an assessment soon) and the biggest impact on his daily life is navigating a long conversation that might have gone off on a tangent and returning to the centre of discussion.
The only person at Panthers, where he has been employed in the commercial area for several years, Simmons initially confided in was CEO Brian Fletcher and they agreed to alter his role at the club from coordinating their Captain’s Club, which involved regular trips away with sponsors, to an ambassador’s role which still includes corporate servicing, assisting former teammate Jim Jones with recruitment and helping with licensed club promotions.
The once regular 10km runs and gym sessions have more recently been replaced by long walks, sometimes with groups of friends and Liane, often 15 to 20km a day. And that’s where the idea of a long distance fundraising sojourn was born.
“Walking is really good for me and if I could get some people who have been successful in life to do different legs with me and share stories, it will help even more,” said Simmo.
“And if we can get sponsorship support and do some talking gigs along the route, it could help raise money for junior footy and dementia research and that’s even more important to me.”
It’s like when Simmo announced to devoted Panthers fans after winning the 1991 premiership, Penrith’s first title in the last of his of his 238 first grade games for the club, that he would “have a beer with every one of yas.”
It wasn’t a pledge to get as drunk as he could but his way of recognising the men and women on the street who had also played a part in the team’s success. That’s Simmo.
Now, Royce Simmons wants to – as long as he is able – recognise the support of those who are by the side of many who are enduring a not so glorious journey. It’s just that he’ll be drinking schooners of light beer this time.
You can support one of rugby league’s favourite characters and toughest competitors by donating now to Royce's Big Walk, with more details about the event to be confirmed over the coming weeks.
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RIP to this legend.
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@nostrildamus said in NRL 2022:
If you like seeing Aussies getting bumped off, just watch this. So good.
Great video highlights. Terrible attempt at kiwi accent by Aussie boofhead, I mean polished league commentator.
lol, he was hardly trying, methinks someone takes it far too seriously, could be in danger of being moved to the PC thread.
Anyhoo loogue season also kicks off this weekend
Maori v Indigenous
New Zealand Maori Kiwis versus Australian Indigenous All-Stars match centre includes live scores and updates. Includes official live player and team stats. Run metres, fantasy points scoring.
Wont be a great game as pre season games often arent, but more sport on the TV is always good
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Watching the Indigenous All Stars v Maori All Stars.
Yes I am watching Loigue.
Reasonably enjoyable. Colour me surprised.
Couple of shoulder charges would have been red in the proper game.
Pretty sure I just saw a deliberate knock forward (!!!) which should have been a PT and YC rob the Maori of another try just before the half.
Entertaining game so far. (Mind you am scrolling Twitty at the same time - so only grabbing me so much ...)
10-6 to the Maori at HT.
Am assuming the Maori might include a few players who would identify more as Aussies than Kiwis ? Can anyone comment?
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How good was Walker? Far out he was a machine.
Bit of feeling in this one and our workhorses really showed a difference in those conditions.
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@act-crusader said in NRL 2022:
How good was Walker? Far out he was a machine.
Bit of feeling in this one and our workhorses really showed a difference in those conditions.
Yeah, our the effort from the Maori boys was O for Olsen 🥰
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Am assuming the Maori might include a few players who would identify more as Aussies than Kiwis ? Can anyone comment?
It's a Maori team, not a NZ Maori team so open to any players of Maori ancestry (Gagai played for both Maori and Indigenous in different years), but I think only Walker is a declared for Oz player. But there were at least three players I hadn't heard of before.
To give a different perspective, I have cousins with Aussie born and bred kids who will say they're NZers first.
Maori pack did the business in the wet.
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I can't work out whether Latrell Mitchell is really dumb, deluded, or just a transcendent grub.
‘They don’t know me’: Latrell hits back at critics; makes shock call on brutal blow on ex-teammate
‘If they’re a real league fanatic they’d understand’: Latrell hits back at critics over Manu blow
Have a read of this
The hit that got him suspended was as bad as any i have seen for years. But nah Latrell, nothing wrong with it aye. You kicked a guy in the head earlier in the year. But nothing to see. Fucking deluded. Just like Dylan Napa. Just like Victor Radley.
The one part of the article i agree with is the fact that there are far too many articles about this bloke. The NRL want him to be the face of the league. But he froths up the bogans (well, including me i guess) so the Sydney papers love him. Plus, he does and says a lot of dumb shit.
Gets to come back a week earlier from his suspension that should have been 10 weeks anyway
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@mariner4life Blake Taafe will still get a few weeks to start the season as he is still suspended. Bunnies lose a few key players this year, so will be interesting to see how far they go.
Dont know if anyone saw any of last weeks pre season games. Tommy Turbo is still a freak, I know its pre season and a lot of players playing wont actually play this year, but for the time he was on the field he was on a different level, pity he isnt the fullback the press is interested in writing about
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@bayimports said in NRL 2022:
@mariner4life Blake Taafe will still get a few weeks to start the season as he is still suspended. Bunnies lose a few key players this year, so will be interesting to see how far they go.
Dont know if anyone saw any of last weeks pre season games. Tommy Turbo is still a freak, I know its pre season and a lot of players playing wont actually play this year, but for the time he was on the field he was on a different level, pity he isnt the fullback the press is interested in writing about
if Tommy Turbo and his glass hamstrings play most of the year Manly are a lock for the top 4
A few more penalties and a few less 6-agains may just curb the ridiculous advantage an elite runner out the back, but not enough to stop that guy
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@mariner4life Perhaps this latrell fluffybunny has done others a favour after all and others could now use the loophole to see a week reduced
Storm and Warriors seek to follow Souths' lead after Latrell ban overturned
The two clubs are seeking to use Mitchell's shaved sentence as a precedent.
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i just read an article that Marty Taupau doesn't have a deal for 2023 yet?
At the right price, and for the right length, i would snap him up. Yeah he's 32 but a couple of years at $500k should be value.
Doubt he would move to Auckland now though. And the Tigers will probably do something really dumb like sign him for 3 years at $850k
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@mariner4life said in NRL 2022:
i just read an article that Marty Taupau doesn't have a deal for 2023 yet?
At the right price, and for the right length, i would snap him up. Yeah he's 32 but a couple of years at $500k should be value.
Doubt he would move to Auckland now though. And the Tigers will probably do something really dumb like sign him for 3 years at $850k
wow we would also be assuming Jacinta will let back in by then lol
Yeah no one needs an Adam Blair deal, but you're right a good pick up for someone, assuming he has no hidden injuries as minutes dropped last year
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