Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1976-08-06)6 August 1976 (age 48) Kiama, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre, Second-row, Lock, Five-eighth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Shaun Timmins (born 6 August 1976) is an Australian former professionalrugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. ANew South WalesState of Origin andAustralian international representative utility, he played his club football in theNational Rugby League for theIllawarra Steelers and theSt George Illawarra Dragons. Timmins was a versatile player, performing at five-eighth, centre, lock, and second-row at representative and club levels.
Timmins was born inKiama, New South Wales[citation needed], where he played junior football and made his first appearance as a seventeen-year-old for the Steelers in round 18 of 1994 against theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks. He was later named the Steelers' Rookie of the year.[citation needed] Timmins played 86 games for theIllawarra Steelers and was a foundation player in the joint ventureSt. George Illawarra Dragons in 1999. He played at centre in the1999 NRL Grand Final loss to theMelbourne Storm. Timmins was first selected for theAustralian team to compete in the end of season1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament. In the final againstNew Zealand he played from the interchange bench in the Kangaroos' 22–20 victory.
Timmins was selected for theNew South Wales team in 2000. He played nine State of Origin games for the New South Wales Blues from 2000 to 2004 and eight Tests for Australia from 1999 to 2004. In 2000, Timmins suffered an injury which revealed a chronic knee condition.[citation needed] His representative ascendancy came to a halt when he was sidelined for 18 months including the whole2001 NRL season. He returned to the field in 2002 and showed tremendous ability to again representNSW andAustralia in a Test match against Great Britain. He was named St. George Illawarra's best player in 2002.[citation needed]
In 2003 after just one club game in the five eighth role, Timmins was selected for Country and then for NSW at five eighth. A 2003 recurrence (in the other knee) of his condition prevented his national selection for the Kangaroo Tour that year and threatened the end of his career. Following five knee operations in total, Timmins made a remarkable recovery in the 2003–2004 off-season. His return to form led to selection for Australia in the 2004ANZAC Test against New Zealand. He also played for New South Wales that year and enteredState of Origin folklore in Game I of the2004 series by kicking the winningfield goal inextra time. It was only the second field goal of his career.[2] Following the2004 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain, France and the US, Timmins announced his retirement from representative football, expressing a focused intention to win a premiership with St. George Illawarra.[citation needed]
Timmins's last game with St. George Illawarra was the loss in the 2006Grand Final qualifier againstMelbourne. Timmins had played 124 games forSt. George Illawarra before retiring from the NRL at the end of 2006. Timmins's contract discussions with theCastleford Tigers for the 2007 season in the UK ended following that club's relegation to second division and after speculative talks with the Gold Coast Titans he was forced into retirement due to the condition of his knees.[3] In March, 2007, Timmins once again felt he was ready to compete in the NRL and offered his services to the Dragons following a pectoral muscle injury toMark Gasnier. The offer was not accepted.[4]