“He means the world to me. There hasn’t been a greater influence on my career than Royce Simmons.”
Those words from fellow True Blue Robbie Farah were echoed around the NSWRL Centre of Excellence today as Simmons and his support crew of Wests Tigers players John Skandalis, Pat Richards and Chris Lawrence stopped for lunch on Day Two of his 10-day walk to raise funds for dementia research.
The 64-year-old was diagnosed three years ago as being in the early stages of the brain disease, prompting him to launch the charity Royce’s Big Walk.
The esteem he is held in among the Rugby League community was evidence by the turn-out of not just NSWRL staff led by NSWRL Chief Executive David Trodden, but former players, teammates, even current NRL referees and Westpac NSW Blues coach Michael Maguire.
Simmons will stop at eight NRL clubs in the greater Sydney area – Parramatta Eels, Manly-Warringah, Sydney Roosters, South Sydney, St George Illawarra, Cronulla-Sutherland, Canterbury-Bankstown, and Wests Tigers, which is where the special bond developed between he and Farah.
“He was an assistant coach when I came through (Wests Tigers) and being an ex-hooker he taught me so much about what it takes to be a first-grader, to be professional,” Farah told nswrl.com.au.
“When I got the opportunity to come back to the Tigers and play my 250th, Roycie presented my jersey. That was one of the proudest moments of my career.
“He’ll do anything for anyone. I’ve never seen him in a bad mood, always has a smile on his face and a quick-witted reply.”
The walk ends on Thursday 15 August, when Simmons walks into his beloved BlueBet Stadium for the Round 24 NRL game between Penrith and Melbourne.
Simmons scored two tries for the Panthers in their 2001 Premiership win over the Canberra Raiders.
Another True Blue Steve ‘Beaver’ Menzies was among the welcome party at Sydney Olympic Park today.
“He’s one of the legends of the game. I’m one of thousands who looked up to him as a hero,” Menzies said.
“I was a Sea Eagle but he was so tough and played the game hard and fair.
“These walks and his passion for them show why he was such a good footballer. He is a focused, committed, determined human being.”
This is the third 300km walk Simmons has undertaken to draw attention to dementia, which affects 15 people in every 1,000 in Australia.
“Hopefully I can do another couple of walks after this one. The main thing is giving awareness about dementia and hopefully at the same time raise some money for the vital research going on.
“We have some great young doctors out there trying to find answers to this terrible disease.”
Simmons played 10 games for NSW between 1984-88 and was part of the squad to win an Origin series 3-0 for the first time in 1986.
When he stepped inside the COE doors today, he was re-acquainted with the Origin shield freshly engraved with NSW’s 2-1 series-winning scores.
“It’s outstanding to see it here where it belongs,” Simmons said.
Click here for more information on Royce's Big Walk or to make a donation.
