Ashton Sims

Ashton Sims

Sims playing for Fiji in the RLWC 2008
Personal information
Born	26 February 1985 (1985-02-26) Sutherland, New South Wales, Australia
Height	192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	109 kg (17 st 2 lb)
Playing information
Position	Second-row, Prop, Lock
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2003–2007	St. George Illawarra	81	9	0	0	36
2008–2010	Brisbane Broncos	56	2	0	0	8
2011–	Nth. Qld. Cowboys	24	1	0	0	0
	Total	161	12	0	0	44
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2008	Fiji	4	0	0	0	0
As of 31 October 2011
Source: NRL Stats, [1]

Ashton Sims (born 26 February 1985 in Sutherland, New South Wales) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the North Queensland Cowboys of the National Rugby League (NRL). A Fiji international representative forward, he previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Brisbane Broncos. Sims has two brothers: Tariq, who also plays for the Cowboys, and Korbin, who plays for the Newcastle Knights Under-20s team.

Playing career

While attending Kiama High School in 2002, Sims was selected to play for the Australian Schoolboys team. He played his junior football for the Gerringong Lions.

St. George-Illawarra Dragons

Sims played for his local NRL club, the St George Illawarra Dragons, from 2003 to 2007, making his NRL debut against the Penrith Panthers in round nine of the 2003 season. In 2004 he suffered a suspected broken jaw, having been elbowed in a wayward shoulder charge by Newcastle's Clint Newton. Newton was sent off and suspended for twelve weeks. Sims however managed to play out the game. During the 2007 season, the Dragons told Sims he was no longer wanted at the club, and he signed for the Brisbane Broncos on a three year contract starting in 2008. He played 81 NRL matches for the Dragons over five seasons.

Brisbane Broncos

Sims in action for the Broncos

Sims made his Brisbane Broncos debut in the Round 1, 2008 clash against reigning wooden spooners, the Penrith Panthers, in a 48–-12 win. Later that year, an elimination semi-final against the Melbourne Storm, Sims dropped the ball one minute and twenty seconds before the end of the match, following a hit by Israel Folau and Sika Manu. The Broncos were leading at the time, but went on to lose the game in the final minute, due to a try to Greg Inglis. Sims described it as "one of the "low points" of his career.

Shortly after the Broncos' semi-final exit, Sims was named in the Fiji squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup and was later confirmed for the final squad. He had only visited Fiji once in his life—for a holiday—but qualified to play for the country because his mother was born there. He was Fiji's starting second-rower for all four of their matches; Fiji qualified for the tournament's semi-final for the first time.

Sims fell out of the Broncos' starting line-up early in the 2009 season, finding himself playing for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup. He was recalled to the Broncos' first thirteen for the team's finals campaign, in which they fell one match short of qualifying for the Grand Final. However, he only played nine NRL matches in the following season, and in August signed to play for the North Queensland Cowboys in 2011.

North Queensland Cowboys

Sims moved to North Queensland with his younger brother, Tariq, who had played in the Broncos' Under-20s team. He played in 24 matches for the Cowboys in the 2011 season, and was a substitute for their qualifying final loss to Manly. Ashton Sims led the way for NRL props in offloads in 2011, making 38 to his team mates.