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| Born | 17 August 2000 Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 96 kg (15 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Second-row, Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 5 September 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jeremiah Simbiken (born 17 August 2000) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who most recently played as a second-row forward for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League and Papua New Guinea at international level.
Simbiken was born in Goroka, Papua New Guinea but is originally from Wewak in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. He moved to Canberra, Australia when he was 10 years old. [3] [4]
Simbiken was a member of the Canberra Raiders junior system. [5]
In the 2022 Queensland Cup state competition, Simbiken debuted for the Redcliffe Dolphins and scored a total of thirteen tries in sixteen matches. [6]
On 25 August 2022, Simbiken signed a three-year deal with the Dolphins (NRL) club, seeing him hold development contract status with them from 2023. [7]
In 2024, Simbiken won the Queensland Cup starting in the second row for the Norths Devils in their Grand Final win against the Redcliffe Dolphins. [8] Two weeks later, he helped the Devils win the NRL State Championship, scoring the opening try against the Newtown Jets. [9]
On 4 December 2024, the Castleford Tigers announced the signing of Simbiken from the 2025 season. [10] He was assigned squad number 11, [11] and scored a try on debut on 9 February against Bradford in the Challenge Cup. [12] He scored his first Super League try against Leeds Rhinos in round 3, [13] though was also given a two-match suspension for dangerous contact. [14] In April, Simbiken and his Papua New Guinean teammates met with King Charles III in support of the charitable organisation Mission Aviation Fellowship. [15] In the closing stages of Castleford's round 9 win against Huddersfield, Simbiken suffered a knee injury and was helped from the field. [16] Initial scans indicated he would be ruled out for 12 weeks, [17] however following a successful operation this prognosis was improved to 8–10 weeks. [18] After returning to the team in July, Simbiken received three suspensions for minor offences under the new 'penalty points' disciplinary format, [19] [20] [21] and an elbow injury sustained in the round 25 win over Wakefield ended his season early. [22] Despite impressing in his first Super League season, Simbiken opted to return home at the conclusion of his contract. [22] [23]
In October 2022, Simbiken was named in the Papua New Guinea squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England. [24] He made his international debut for PNG on 31 October 2022 against Wales, [25] [26] and also played in the quarter final against England. [27]
Simbiken was included in the Kumuls squad for the 2024 Pacific Championships in October 2024. He featured in all three of PNG's matches, playing against Fiji and the Cook Islands in the group stage and New Zealand in the promotion play-off. [28] [29] [30]