A momentous period in Mark Simon's young life - in which his battle to keep alive his NRL dream was interrupted by a battle against Covid - will come to an end at New Era Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.
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That's when the 19-year-old Tamworthian will wear the No 13 for eighth-placed Parramatta's final SG Ball Cup clash for 2022: an encounter against Canberra to conclude the regular season.
The match will provide Simon with another chance to shine after the Eels handed him a trial and train opportunity this season when Canterbury cut him loose.
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Now well-settled in Sydney, where he lives at Parramatta House and works full-time as a greenskeeper, the NSW Country under-18 representative will stay in Sydney and push for a spot in the Eels' Jersey Flegg side over the remainder of that competition this year.
He then expects to start preseason training in November, with the goal of cementing a starting spot in Parramatta's 2023 Jersey Flegg outfit.
Simon is doing everything he can succeed.
When he bumped off a defender and crashed over to score an eye-catching try after coming off the bench in Parra's last SG Ball match, a 22-14 win over Illawarra last Saturday, he was rewarded with a return to the starting 13.
He had missed the previous two matches due to Covid.
"I was stoked," he said of his promotion, adding that he also "did some good defence" against Illawarra.
"They were pretty happy with me. Yeah, they put me back at lock, which was great."
The Farrer alumnus was his usual upbeat self when he spoke to the Leader via phone on Thursday morning. However, last month he was hit by a debilitating bout of Covid.
"I was knocked around for a few days, that's for sure," he said, adding: "I had every symptom under the sun: aches and pains and a head cold; I was bedridden for about three days."
Contracting the virus for the first time was a low point in what has been a heady time in the fully qualified horticulturalist's life.
"I'm pretty comfortable. Work offered me a full-time job, which was great. Yeah, I'm pretty set now, which is good."
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Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
