Simon Grix (born 28 September 1985) is an

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played as a forward for Halifax in the

Betfred Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the Rugby Football League Championship Second Division, second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football Lea ...

and has been the team's manager since May 2019.

Background

Grix was born in

Halifax, West Yorkshire, England Halifax () is a Minster (church), minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre of the borough, and the headquarters of Calderdale Metropol ...

Playing career

Halifax

Grix began his career at Halifax spending the 2003 and 2004 seasons at the club. Simon Grix

Warrington Wolves

In 2006 he joined the

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

. He missed out on selection through injury for three

Challenge Cup Final The Challenge Cup of Rugby league was instituted in the 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season, 1896–97 and the final was contested between Batley Bulldogs, Batley and St Helens R.F.C., St. Helens at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Headingley, ...

s. He played in the

2012 Super League Grand Final The 2012 Super League Grand Final was the 15th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XVII season. The match was held on Saturday 6 October 2012, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by ...

defeat to the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

. He played in the

2013 Super League Grand Final The 2013 Super League Grand Final was the 16th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of Super League XVIII. The game was held on Saturday 5 October 2013, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by Wigan Warrio ...

defeat to the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

Halifax Panthers

After 10 years at the

Halliwell Jones Stadium The Halliwell Jones Stadium is a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England, which is the home ground of the Warrington Wolves. It has also staged Challenge Cup semi-finals, the European Nations Final, the National League Grand Finals' Day, ...

he returned to Halifax.

International career

He was mooted for a call-up to the

squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...

, and was named in the Ireland training squad but did not make the final side. He eventually made his Ireland début in 2010. He was named in their squad for the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...

but was ruled out by injury prior to the tournament and was replaced by

Matty Hadden Matthew Hadden (born 7 June 1990) is an Ireland international rugby league footballer who plays as a for Longhorn RL in the Ireland National League. Playing career Longhorns RL On 2 January 2019 Hadden joined Longhorns RL from Rochdale Horne ...

Coaching career

On 22 May 2019, it was announced that Grix would become the head coach of

Halifax Panthers The Halifax Panthers are a professional rugby league club in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which formed in 1873. Halifax were one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. They have been Rugby Leag ...

in the

RFL Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the Rugby Football League Championship Second Division, second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football Lea ...

following a successful stint as interim. 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 Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship. The cl ...

in the

Million Pound Game Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual playoff final rugby league game that decides which Championship team will be promoted to Super League the following season. Between 2015 and 2018, the game was played as part of The Qualif ...

. Halifax would lose the match 42-10 which ended their season.

Personal life

He is the younger brother of the rugby league footballer;

Scott Grix Scott Byron Grix (born 1 May 1984) is a former Ireland international rugby league footballer who last played as a for Halifax Panthers in the Betfred Championship. He previously played for the Doncaster Dragons, Halifax, Leigh Centurions and ...

, and cousin of the association footballer and manager;

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

References

External links

Profile at halifaxrlfc.co.ukSimon Grix: Warrington Wolves back to join coaching staffProfile at warringtonwolves.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grix, Simon 1985 births Living people English people of Irish descent English rugby league players Halifax R.L.F.C. coaches Halifax R.L.F.C. players Ireland national rugby league team players Rugby league players from Halifax, West Yorkshire Rugby league second-rows Warrington Wolves players