John Skandalis

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**John Skandalis**
Personal information
Full name	John Skandalis
Date of birth	June 16, 1976 (1976-06-16) (age 31)
Place of birth	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	16 st 11 lbs (113 kg)
Nickname(s)	Skando
Club information
Position(s)	Prop forward
Current club	Huddersfield Giants
Number	10
Youth clubs
Years	Club
	Minto Cobras
Senior clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (points)
1996–00 2000–06 2007–	Western Suburbs Magpies Wests Tigers Huddersfield Giants	(12) (60)
* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only and correct as of 25 April 2007.

John Skandalis (born June 16, 1976 in Sydney, New South Wales) is a Greek-Australian professional rugby league player for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League competition. He previously played for the Wests Tigers and his usual position is prop forward.

His Greek heritage has meant he is eligible to represent Greece, which he has done as captain of the side.

[edit] Playing career

"Skando", as he is affectionately known to the Tigers fans, was one of the most popular players at the club formed from the merger of the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Balmain Tigers in 2000, and was the last original Western Suburbs player left at the club after the merger. He signed on for the Magpies in the early 90's after playing out his junior years with the Minto Cobras and was awarded his first grade debut in the 1996 season in round 9 on May 17 against the Penrith Panthers.

Skandalis is known for his workhorse attitude and his never say die approach to rugby league and as the years have progressed his performances gradually caught the attention of representative selectors. This was seen in both the 2002 and 2004 seasons where Skandalis was dually awarded with his first representative call up for City team in the annual City v. Country fixture.

In the 2005 NRL season Skandalis was a part of the Wests Tigers team, who won the NRL Premiership Grand Final for the first time on October 2, 2005. Many saw him as one of the best prop forwards in the country at the time and this left many disappointed that he was omitted from the Australian Rugby League side.

On June 14th 2006, John signed a 2 year contract to play in Super League (Europe) with the Huddersfield Giants, starting from the 2007 season, which started in March 2007.

In 2008, John made the vice captain spot on the squad, alongside Ryan Hudson. He led the team out against Wigan when regular captain Chris Thorman was injured and proved a hit with the spectators. John has a widespread fanbase amongst the female fans, as he is rather well-built and good looking.

[edit] External links

v • d • e Wests Tigers squad - 2005 NRL Premiers (1st Title)

1 Brett Hodgson • 2 Daniel Fitzhenry • 3 Shane Elford • 4 Paul Whatuira • 5 Pat Richards • 6 Benji Marshall • 7 Scott Prince • 8 Anthony Laffranchi • 9 Robbie Farah • 10 John Skandalis • 11 Ben Galea • 12 Mark O'Neill • 13 Dene Halatau • 14 Liam Fulton • 15 Chris Heighington • 16 Bryce Gibbs • 17 Todd Payten • Coach: Tim Sheens