Simon 'Presti' Prestigiacomo was born on 31 January 1978 and is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.
18 Facts About Simon Prestigiacomo
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Simon Prestigiacomo was given guernsey number 35, made famous by Collingwood legend Peter Daicos.
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Simon Prestigiacomo made his debut against the West Coast Eagles in Round 11,1996.
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Simon Prestigiacomo's form was good enough for him to play the final twelve games in his debut year.
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Simon Prestigiacomo struggled during the 1998 season with shoulder injuries, playing ten games and kicking two goals for the year.
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In 1999, Simon Prestigiacomo made a breakthrough in his career, as his solid work in defence proved himself to be a required player.
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Simon Prestigiacomo performed well enough to finish equal third in the 2000 best and fairest, finishing behind winner Nathan Buckley and Tarkyn Lockyer.
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Simon Prestigiacomo was a key performer in the Collingwood season of 2002, when the club reached the Grand Final.
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Simon Prestigiacomo played every game except one and was very heavily relied on as a stopping defender, and less-so as a rebounding defender, and played in Collingwood's Grand Final loss against Brisbane.
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Simon Prestigiacomo struggled with injury in 2004, but returned to full fitness in 2005, playing twenty matches that season, including his 150th.
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Simon Prestigiacomo returned to his best form in 2006 and 2007, but missed the 2007 finals with injury.
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In 2009, Simon Prestigiacomo had arguably the best season of his career, in which he played every game, including his 200th on Anzac Day.
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Simon Prestigiacomo was named in the 40-man squad for the 2009 All-Australian team, but was not selected in the final team.
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Simon Prestigiacomo missed the finals with injury, and although he had recovered enough to come into consideration for selection in the drawn Grand Final, he considered that he had not recovered enough and voluntarily ruled himself out of contention, a decision for which he was widely praised by fans and commentators.
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On 10 November 2010, Simon Prestigiacomo announced his retirement from the AFL after 233 games with Collingwood.
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Collingwood honoured Simon Prestigiacomo, by having him unveil the 2010 Premiership Flag at the MCG in Round 3,2011.
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In 2011, Simon Prestigiacomo played for West Preston Lakeside in the Northern Football League, alongside former Collingwood teammate, Anthony Rocca.
18.
Matthew Richardson and Jonathan Brown are both quoted saying that Simon Prestigiacomo is one of the hardest players they have ever had to play against.