He played for the Western Suburbs Magpies and for the Wests Tigers in two separate spells in the National Rugby League (NRL).

"[5] Skandalis signed on for the Magpies in the early 1990s after playing out his junior years with the Minto Cobras, and attending Sarah Redfern High School.

He later said, "We used to get smashed every week and we didn't have the best team, but to be honest, those years at the start of my career really made me a tougher player and work that much harder.

Skandalis was known for his workhorse attitude and his never say die approach to rugby league and as the years progressed his performances gradually caught the attention of representative selectors.

[9] As NRL Premiers Wests faced Super League champions Bradford Bulls in the 2006 World Club Challenge.

In 2012 the record was surpassed by Chris Heighington, though Skandalis had previously played 64 games for Wests Magpies before the club merged.

On 14 June 2006, Skandalis signed a two-year contract to play in the Super League with the Huddersfield Giants, starting from the 2007 season.

After the end of the 2009 season, Skandalis announced he would be retiring and taking up the position of strength and conditioning coach with the Wests Tigers NYC team.

[12] However, Skandalis returned to play for the Magpies in the middle of the 2010 season, and then, in July, made a shock comeback with the Tigers,[13] coach Tim Sheens saying, "I can't get rid of the guy.

[8] The inaugural "Philips Sports Dad of the Year" was awarded to Skandalis in late 2009, narrowly defeating Brett Kimmorley.