Thrill-seeking country larrikin Kevin Simmonds and his reckless young protégé Leslie Newcombe blaze through a high-stakes crime spree, but when a botched robbery ends in murder and triggers the largest manhunt in Australian history, the fugitives are forced to confront loyalty, survival, and the price of freedom by a system built to break them.

SYNOPSIS:

In the 1930s, in rural New South Wales, Kevin Simmonds grows up restless and defiant, shaped by hardship and loss. Drawn to rebellion early, he runs away from home, steals from his father, and lands in Boys Town, where crime becomes his education and survival his instinct.

By eighteen, Kevin’s record stacks up with thefts and break-ins, each act driven by his hunger for control and freedom. Imprisoned at the Gosford Prison Training School, he builds strength and discipline through martial arts and boxing, preparing himself for a life that refuses to play by the rules.

When released, Kevin reunites with ex-cellmate Frank Foley, a slick swindler, and together they stage a suburban bank robbery. Kevin fires a warning shot to assert control, a defining act that cements his reputation as both leader and thrill-seeker. But when Frank disappears with the loot, Kevin is left empty-handed. Months later, after a dramatic foot chase through the city streets, Kevin is caught and sentenced to fifteen years in Long Bay Gaol.

Inside, he meets Leslie Newcombe, a young, aimless crook searching for purpose. The two form a tight bond, built on trust and shared resentment toward the system. Before long, they hatch a plan, not for glory, but to reclaim their freedom from an institution determined to break them.

On October 9, 1959, Kevin and Les pull off a daring midday escape, vanishing into Sydney’s sprawl. They spend their first night hiding in freshly dug graves at Botany Cemetery as police flood the area. In the weeks that follow, they move between city showgrounds and derelict buildings, scavenging for food under the cover of darkness while police remain baffled by their whereabouts.

When supplies dwindle and desperation sets in, they steal a car and drive through the night to Emu Plains Prison Farm. There, a confrontation with a warden turns violent, a single fatal mistake that changes everything. The warden’s death brands them as killers and triggers the largest manhunt in New South Wales history.

Les is captured within two weeks, but Kevin stays free for thirty-seven days, slipping through police cordons, surviving in the bush, and mocking authority with every close call. His defiant charm and rugged looks captivate the nation. Newspapers crown him the “good-looking bandit,” while sympathisers plaster posters across Sydney in his support. Women leave milk on their doorsteps for him, transforming the fugitive into an unlikely folk hero. But when exhaustion and hunger finally take their toll, Kevin surrenders, ending the chase.

Sent to Grafton Gaol, Kevin faces a regime of unrelenting cruelty. Guards beat, torment, and humiliate him until the rebellious spark that once defined him begins to die. The outlaw becomes a broken man, clinging to sanity in a place built to destroy it. After seven brutal years, he is found hanging in his cell. Officials call it suicide, but the bruises, silence, and fear tell another story.

His sister, Jan Simmonds, refuses to let his death be forgotten. Her memoir, For Simmo, exposes the brutality inside Grafton and sparks a Royal Commission into prison abuse.

Final Blow is a true story of rebellion, brotherhood, and the price of freedom — a powerful examination of how the system that seeks to punish the outlaw is often the one that creates him.