Simon Grix (born 28 September 1985) is an Ireland international rugby league footballer who played as a second-row forward for Halifax in the Betfred Championship[4][3] and was the team's manager from May 2019 to Oct 2023. He is currently the interim coach for Super League side Hull FC, following the departure of previous coach Tony Smith, who left the club by mutual consent on 10 April 2024.
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Simon David Grix[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 28 September 1985 Halifax, West Yorkshire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st 7 lb (92 kg) [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Loose forward, Second-row, Centre, Stand-off | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 22 Sep 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Scott Grix (brother) Michael Collins (cousin) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editGrix was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England.
Playing career
editHalifax
editGrix began his career at Halifax spending the 2003 and 2004 seasons at the club.
Warrington Wolves
editIn 2006 he joined the Warrington Wolves in the Super League.
He missed out on selection through injury for three Challenge Cup Finals.[5]
He played in the 2012 Super League Grand Final defeat to the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.[6][7]
He played in the 2013 Super League Grand Final defeat to the Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.[8][9][10][11][12]
Halifax Panthers
editAfter 10 years at the Halliwell Jones Stadium he returned to Halifax.
International career
editHe was mooted for a call-up to the Ireland squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, and was named in the Ireland training squad but did not make the final side.[13][14]
He eventually made his Ireland début in 2010.
He was named in their squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup but was ruled out by injury prior to the tournament and was replaced by Matty Hadden.[15]
Coaching career
editOn 22 May 2019, it was announced that Grix would become the head coach of Halifax Panthers in the RFL Championship following a successful stint as interim.[16]
In the 2021 Championship season, Grix guided Halifax to a third placed finish which qualified them for the playoffs. After defeating Whitehaven in the first week, Halifax travelled to Featherstone with the winner to play Toulouse Olympique in the Million Pound Game. Halifax would lose the match 42-10 which ended their season.[17]
He took over the role of interim head coach following the sacking of Tony Smith on 11 Apr 2024[18]
Personal life
editHe is the younger brother of the rugby league footballer; Scott Grix, and cousin of the association footballer and manager; Michael Collins.
References
edit- ^ Companies House
- ^ "Profile at superleague.co.uk". superleague.co.uk. 17 August 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Simon Grix misses his third Challenge Cup Final for Warrington Wolves". Warrington Guardian. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ "Grand Final: Warrington 18-26 Leeds". BBC Sport. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ "Leeds' Kevin Sinfield stars in Grand Final triumph against Warrington". Guardian. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ "Super League Grand Final". Super League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ Newsum, Matt (5 October 2013). "Super League Grand Final: Wigan Warriors beat Warrington". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Super League Grand Final: Warrington v Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Warrington Wolves 16 Wigan Warriors 30". Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Wigan see off Warrington in X-rated Grand Final to complete double". Guardian. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "White Eyes a Green Jersey". RLWC08.com. 2008-07-21. Retrieved 2008-07-30.[dead link]
- ^ "Ireland Name World Cup 40 Man Training Squad". Rugby League Ireland. 2008-08-01. Archived from the original on 2020-04-14. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ^ "Matty Hadden of Oxford called into Ireland squad". skysports.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "HALIFAX APPOINT SIMON GRIX". www.rugby-league.com. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 19 Apr 2021.
- ^ "Featherstone 42-10 Halifax Panthers: Heavy defeat ends Halifax's hopes of reaching Million Pound Game". www.halifaxcourier.co.uk.
- ^ "Tony Smith: Hull FC head coach departs after 18 months in charge". BBC Sport. 11 Apr 2024. Retrieved 21 Jul 2024.