A Southlander was at the heart of the Sydney Roosters' preparation as the club ended a seven-year wait for an NRL premiership on Sunday night.
Simon Jones, the Roosters' head of performance, watched his side come from behind to beat the Newcastle Knights 19-18 in front of 80,814 people at Accor Stadium.
The Roosters trailed 12-6 at half-time before tries to Mark Nawaqanitawase and Billy Smith turned the match. A 70th-minute field goal from Daly Cherry-Evans proved decisive when Newcastle scored late to close within a point.
It is the Roosters' first title since 2019 and the club's 16th premiership.
From Surrey Park to Sydney
Jones went to Southland Boys' High School and competed as a junior sprinter before building a career in strength and conditioning, starting out in Southland with netball and rugby teams.
He went on to work for the Highlanders and High Performance Sport New Zealand in Dunedin, then spent three years as head of performance for Japan's national rugby team.
He returned to Dunedin in 2020 as the Highlanders' head of athletic performance before an unexpected approach took him to the Roosters in 2024.
At the Roosters he sits across the medical staff, strength and conditioning coaches, sports scientists and dietitians, with the job of lining each of those departments up behind the football programme.
Speaking to Southland's The Roar podcast in 2024, soon after he arrived, Jones admitted the code was new territory. "I've been on a very steep learning curve about NRL footy," he said.
His first pre-season made an impression on the playing group. Roosters fullback James Tedesco said at the time that "this pre-season we all did everything; there wasn't any leeway there".
A tough grand final
Sunday's decider was a grind. Newcastle led through first-half tries to Francis Manuleleua and Kalyn Ponga before Nawaqanitawase crossed just before the break and again on the hour, with Smith's try in between putting the Roosters in front.
Sam Walker kicked three goals, and Cherry-Evans' one-pointer gave the Roosters the buffer they needed when Greg Marzhew scored for the Knights with four minutes left.
Jones ran the Roosters' 2024 pre-season in his first months at the club. Two seasons on, the side he helps prepare are champions again, and a career that began on Invercargill training fields has a premiership to show for it.
