Simon Craig

Greg Davis 10/08/2025

BY GREG DAVIS The Stara Easts Tigers are 80 minutes away from a berth in the 2025 StoreLocal Hospital Cupgrand final after roaring into the major semi-final with a rollicking rollercoaster ride thatfinished with a 50-31 rout of GPS at Yoku Road. The Tigers will now take on Brothers in the major semi-final at Sunnybank this Sunday withthe winner earning a direct ticket to the Hospital Cup’s big dance at Ballymore on 31 August.Wests and Bond will face-off in the sudden-death minor semi-final – a fixture that Eastswere staring down the barrel of after a sluggish start in the Round...

QLD Rugby 01/10/2024

Written by Reds Media Unit on Oct 01, 2024 02:48 PM, courtesy of qld.rugby Source article.Simon Craig will return to the Queensland Reds as an assistant coach The 2025 coaching staff for the Queensland Reds women's team has been finalised with two experienced assistants to join head coach Andrew Fraser. Simon Craig (set piece and contact) and Damon Virtue (backs), both senior coaches with grand final experience with the Reds at Super Rugby Women's level, have signed on. Having the coaching structure settled in September is a major plus to steer the women's program into an optimum pre-season. "It's exciting...

QLD Rugby 10/07/2024

Written by Jim Tucker, courtesy of qld.rugby Source articlePreparation for the landmark tour of Tonga by the Queensland women’s team will be handled by a new three-pronged coaching coalition.Andrew Fraser, Head of Rugby at the University of Queensland Rugby Football Club, will act as Head Coach for the July campaign.It will culminate in the historic July 26 clash against the Tongan national team in Nuku’alofa, the first overseas match played by the Reds women’s team in their 28-year history.Fraser will oversee defence, his role as assistant coach at Bond University in the StoreLocal Hospital Cup in 2022-23 and with the...

QLD Rugby 13/06/2024

Written by Queensland Rugby Media Unit, courtesy of qld.rugby Source article As we tick over the halfway mark of the StoreLocal Hospital Cup regular season, we take a look at one major talking point from each team, with this season shaping up to be the closest season in recent memory. After Norths completed the StoreLocal Hospital Cup ‘Circle of Life’ with a win over Easts in Round 9, one could confidently say it’s anyone’s game. While there are certainly favourites in every match up, major upsets and standout performances from Easts’ Eli Pilz, GPS’s Matt Gicquel and Bond University’s Rhian...

QLD Rugby 07/06/2024

Written by Jim Tucker, courtesy of qld.rugby Source articleEasts game-breaker Eli Pilz will have a rare week off on Saturday with a knee niggle forcing him out of the clash against GPS at Bottomley Park.Young Sam Farrar has been promoted at halfback while stalwart No.8 Henry Olsen will take over as captain while Pilz is sidelined.An 18-14 loss last weekend was both credit to Norths and the Tigers falling to their bogey team again.“It’s a mental game for us going to Norths and we have to get better at it. Norths have risen to the occasion a number of times,”...

QLD Rugby 04/04/2024

Written by Jim Tucker, courtesy of qld.rugby Source article QPR StoreLocal Hospital Cup Countdown: Easts, Brothers, Souths, Bond University, WestsWith the StoreLocal Hospital Cup season to kick off on Saturday around Brisbane and the Gold Coast, we've delved to shine a light on the season ahead for QPR's nine clubs. READ PART ONE HERE EASTS Junior Wallabies prop Massimo De Lutiis turned 14 weeks on the sidelines into a motivating rehab goal that is now the talk of Queensland footy clubs in all codes. The powerfully-framed 20-year-old bench pressed 202.5kg in the Reds gym on Tuesday with roars of approval...

QLD Rugby 04/04/2024

Written by Jim Tucker, courtesy of qld.rugby Source articleAnother big season of StoreLocal Hospital Cup action has arrived. As like any season, a lot has changed since Brothers lifted the cup at Ballymore last August. To mark the new season, we've cast our eye on some key storylines that could shape the season ahead.How will GPS recoup from the loss of many of their elder players?The Gallopers farewelled Cris Kuridrani, Michael Richards, Josh Collins and Jake Straker over the summer with the trio all calling time on their tenured first-grade careers. The quartet have 300+ first grade caps combined with...

Alex Cran 31/08/2023

SIMON CRAIG APPOINTED AS EASTS HEAD COACH Easts Rugby Union have appointed Simon Craig as Head Coach of Easts Premier Grade. Simon “Craigy” Craig has had a long and successful association with Easts dating back to 2008 when coaching his sons in Easts Juniors. He moved into the Easts senior coaching ranks in 2010 with 2nd Grade and has continued his coaching development through to Premier grade programs including successful Premiership winning teams. In addition to his involvement at Easts, Craigy has coached a number of representative teams including QLD Reds U/16’s, QLD Reds Academy and QLD Reds Super W...

Jim Tucker 21/04/2022

Your new-look Easts Tigers have had a shake-up with first-season head coach Ben Mowen meshing fresh faces and old heads to make their mark on 2022. Saturday’s opener against Sunnybank at David Wilson Field will be the lift-off to where Mowen, attack coach Paul Warwick and forwards coach Simon Craig want to take the club in the Hospital Cup. Former Wallaby Mowen knows what success looks like. He will always treasure sharing in the euphoria of the six-from-six finale to 2020 but he’s also aware of separating that history from the 2022 squad. “We’ll create our own identity as a...