Adam Simpson

Adam Simpson

Simpson in 2008
Personal information
Full name Adam Simpson
Nickname(s) Simmo[1]
Date of birth (1976-02-16) 16 February 1976
Original team(s) Eltham (DVFL)
Draft 14th pick, 1993 National Draft (NM)
Height / weight 185 cm / 86 kg
Position(s) Midfielder
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1995–2009 North Melbourne 306 (83)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2002–2003 Australia 4 (0)
Coaching career3
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
2014– West Coast 70 (45–24–1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2009.
3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2016.
Career highlights

Adam Simpson (born 16 February 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who is the current coach of the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). A left-footed midfielder, his playing career for North Melbourne spanned from 1995 to 2009, including 306 games.

From Melbourne, Simpson played junior football for Eltham and the Northern Knights before being recruited to North Melbourne at the 1993 National Draft. He made his debut during the 1995 season, and won a premiership the following year, during which he was also nominated for the AFL Rising Star award. Another premiership followed in 1999, and in 2002, Simpson was named in the All-Australian team and also won North Melbourne's best and fairest award, the Syd Barker Medal. He was appointed club captain in 2004, and held the position until stepping down at the end of the 2008 season, with his span including a preliminary final in 2007. Simpson played his 300th game in 2009, the third North Melbourne player to do so, and finished his career towards the end of the season. He was appointed coach of West Coast in October 2013, replacing John Worsfold.

Early life

Simpson grew up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne where he played junior football for Eltham in the suburban Diamond Valley Football League. He also played under-18 football for Northern Knights. Simpson also had a stint in the East Gippsland town of Sale where he was part of a under 15's premiership under coach Vince Moro.

AFL playing career

(1995-2003)

Simpson was recruited by North Melbourne at the 1993 National Draft. He made his senior debut for the club against the Eagles in round 18 at Princes Park during the 1995 season. The following season he played for North Melbourne in the grand final win over Sydney. Earlier in the season he was nominated for the Rising Star award. Simpson also played a key midfield role for North Melbourne when the team won the 1999 Grand Final. In 2002, he won the club best and fairest award (Syd Barker Medal) and he was named in the All-Australian team.

Club captain (2004-2008)

Simpson with North Melbourne in 2007

Simpson was appointed club captain in 2004, and he led the Kangaroos into the finals the following year.

In 2005, the skipper narrowly missed recording a fifth consecutive top-three finish in the club best and fairest. He finished 4th, one vote behind 3rd and 2 votes shy of second. That year he missed two games with a punctured lung, but he still tallied over 400 disposals for the season with his industrious playmaking style.

Round 5 2007, he racked up a career equalling high 41 disposals, including a goal, in the Roos 16 point win against Geelong at Kardinia Park. Weeks later, he played his 250th game against Carlton in a home game at Carrara on the Gold Coast. North Melbourne won the game 22-13 (147) to 20-10 (130). Simpson had 20 disposals. At the end of the game, his team-mates celebrated his 250 milestone by chairlifting him from the field.

On 5 November Adam Simpson announced he was stepping down as captain but he would continue playing in 2009. Brent Harvey became the new captain.

Controversy

In 2009 Adam Simpson along with Daniel Pratt admitted to making a YouTube video entitled “The Adventures of Little Boris”. The video was of a rubber chicken named Boris performing sex acts on a chicken carcass. This resulted in North Melbourne giving them fines of $5,000 each over their part in the sex video.

Simpson and Pratt were among seven Kangaroos players responsible for producing the film, which put a media spotlight on the club and AFL players in general over their attitudes to women.

Retirement

Simpson retired during the 2009 season. With North Melbourne out of finals contention, Simpson announced his retirement on 27 July 2009. He played the last of his 306 games on Friday night against Carlton in round 18 at Docklands on 31 July. He ended his playing career after 15 seasons in the same round he made his debut. Simpson played every game during the North Melbourne 1996 and 1999 premiership seasons, and during his career he missed seven games as a regular player. He was the third player to notch 300 games for North Melbourne. At the end of his playing career he was remembered as hard-at-the-ball and as a favourite son of North Melbourne Football Club.

AFL coaching career

West Coast Eagles appointed Simpson coach for the 2014 season. He replaced John Worsfold who stood down after a disappointing season in 2013. Simpson was selected ahead of applicants Scott Burns and Peter Sumich. In his first year as senior coach the Eagles finished 9th. The following year, Simpson and the Eagles surprised many commentators by their performance when the club finished 2nd at the end home & away rounds.

Prior to coaching the Eagles, Simpson began his coaching career as an assistant coach under Alistair Clarkson at Hawthorn in 2010, and he was the midfield & forward coach for the Hawks when the club won the Grand Final in 2013.

Statistics

Playing statistics

[2]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
1995 North Melbourne 37 2 0 0 5 6 11 1 1 0.0 0.0 2.5 3.0 5.5 0.5 0.5
1996 North Melbourne 37 25 16 8 164 94 258 46 35 0.6 0.3 6.6 3.8 10.3 1.8 1.4
1997 North Melbourne 37 19 5 7 153 82 235 46 23 0.3 0.4 8.1 4.3 12.4 2.4 1.2
1998 North Melbourne 37 19 9 10 175 112 287 46 45 0.5 0.5 9.2 5.9 15.1 2.4 2.4
1999 Kangaroos 7 25 5 9 409 136 545 113 54 0.2 0.4 16.4 5.4 21.8 4.5 2.2
2000 Kangaroos 7 25 5 6 376 116 492 87 83 0.2 0.2 15.0 4.6 19.7 3.5 3.3
2001 Kangaroos 7 21 3 0 309 146 455 88 60 0.1 0.0 14.7 7.0 21.7 4.2 2.9
2002 Kangaroos 7 23 7 10 403 162 565 105 72 0.3 0.4 17.5 7.0 24.6 4.6 3.1
2003 Kangaroos 7 21 11 6 327 205 532 126 45 0.5 0.3 15.6 9.8 25.3 6.0 2.1
2004 Kangaroos 7 22 4 8 317 227 544 118 73 0.2 0.4 14.4 10.3 24.7 5.4 3.3
2005 Kangaroos 7 21 3 1 230 183 413 84 63 0.1 0.0 11.0 8.7 19.7 4.0 3.0
2006 Kangaroos 7 19 2 2 226 210 436 96 58 0.1 0.1 11.9 11.1 22.9 5.1 3.1
2007 Kangaroos 7 25 4 4 327 283 610 104 110 0.2 0.2 13.1 11.3 24.4 4.2 4.4
2008 North Melbourne 7 21 4 5 238 267 505 77 77 0.2 0.2 11.3 12.7 24.0 3.7 3.7
2009 North Melbourne 7 18 5 4 199 243 442 95 76 0.3 0.2 11.1 13.5 24.6 5.3 4.2
Career 306 83 80 3858 2472 6330 1232 875 0.3 0.3 12.6 8.1 20.7 4.0 2.9

Coaching statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season[3]
Legend
 W  Wins  L  Losses  D  Draws  W%  Winning percentage  LP  Ladder position  LT  League teams
Season Team Games W L D W % LP LT
2014 West Coast 22 11 11 0 50.0% 9 18
2015 West Coast 25 18 6 1 72.0% 2 18
2016 West Coast 23 16 7 0 69.6% 7 18
Career totals 70 45 24 1 65.0%

Personal life

Simpson married his high-school sweetheart, whom he met in Year 11, and he has four children Milla, Allie, Owen and Elsa.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/news/2015-09-30/simmo-second-best-of-2015[]
  2. ↑ "Adam Simpson". AFL Tables.
  3. ↑ "Adam Simpson's coaching profile". AFL Tables.

External links

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