Adam Simpson (born 16 February 1976) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who is the current premiership coach of the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). A left-footed midfielder, his playing career for spanned from 1995 to 2009, where he played 306 games. From

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Simpson played junior football for

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...

and the

Northern Knights The Northern Knights is an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based in Preston, representing the northern suburban area of Melbourne. The Knights a ...

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 The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

award. Another premiership followed

in 1999 ''In 1999'' is a 1912 one-act comedic short play by William C. deMille, originally produced by Jesse L. Lasky, that was popular upon its release. Its gags are based on a future where gender roles are reversed. Production The piece debuted at th ...

, and in 2002, Simpson was named in the

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

and also won North Melbourne's best and fairest award, the

Syd Barker Medal The Syd Barker Medal is awarded to the North Melbourne Football Club player who has been judged the best and fairest of the footy season. The award has been given out continuously since 1937. Before then it was known as the Syd Barker Memorial Tr ...

. 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 John Richard Worsfold (born 25 September 1968) is a former Australian rules football coach and player. He was the senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) between October 2015 and September 2020. He pr ...

Early life

Simpson grew up in the northern suburbs of

where he played junior football for

in the suburban

Diamond Valley Football League The Northern Football Netball League (formerly known as the Diamond Valley Football League and later Northern Football League) is an Australian sports league based in the Diamond Creek, Victoria, Diamond Valley region of suburban Melbourne, Vi ...

. He also played under-18 football for

. Simpson also had a stint in the East Gippsland town of Sale where he was part of an under 15's premiership under coach Vince Moro. As a child, Simpson supported the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

, the club whom he would play his final AFL game against in 2009.

Playing career

North Melbourne

1995–2009

Simpson was recruited by North Melbourne at the 1993 National Draft. He made his senior debut for the club against the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

in round 18 at Princes Park during the 1995 season. The following season, he played for North Melbourne in the 1996 AFL Grand Final win over

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. 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 (

) and he was named in the

club captain (2004–2008)

Simpson was appointed club captain in 2004, and he led the

Kangaroos Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

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 Roos is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated east from Kingston upon Hull city centre and north-west from Withernsea, and on the B1242 road. History The de Ros family originated from the villa ...

16 point win against

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major AFL stadium, a secondary football oval, a cricket field, an open air swimming pool, a number of ...

. Weeks later, he played his 250th game against

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

in a home game at

Carrara Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, west-northwest o ...

on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. North Melbourne won the game 22-13 (147) to 20-10 (130). Simpson had 20 disposals. At the end of the game, his teammates celebrated his 250 milestone by chairlifting him from the field. On 5 November 2008, Adam Simpson announced he was stepping down as captain but he would continue playing in 2009.

Brent Harvey Brent Harvey (born 14 May 1978), often known by his nickname "Boomer", is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He holds the record for most matches played ...

became the new captain.

Controversy

In April 2009. Simpson, Daniel Pratt and five other North Melbourne players admitted to producing a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

video entitled "The Adventures of Little Boris". The video was of a rubber chicken named Boris performing sexual acts on the carcass of a chicken. Simpson and Pratt were fined $5000 each by North Melbourne.

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

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. Simpson played for North Melbourne Football Club from 1995 until 2009 for a total of 306 games and kicked 83 goals.

Coaching career

Hawthorn Football Club assistant coach (2010-2013)

After his retirement from his playing career at the end of the 2009 season, Simpson began his coaching career as an assistant coach under senior coach

Alastair Clarkson Alastair Thomas Clarkson (born 27 April 1968) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the North Melbourne Football Club. He was previously the head coach of the Hawthorn Football Club in the ...

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

in the

2010 AFL season The 2010 AFL season was the 114th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixt ...

, and he was the midfield & forward coach for the

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily a ...

when the club won the premiership in the

2013 AFL Grand Final The 2013 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between Hawthorn Football Club and Fremantle Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 28 September 2013. It was the 118th annual grand final of the Australian Footb ...

West Coast Eagles senior coach (2014-present)

In October 2013, the

appointed Simpson as senior coach for the 2014 season. He replaced

who stood down after a disappointing 2013 season. Simpson was selected ahead of applicants Scott Burns, Leigh Tudor and

Peter Sumich Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

. In his first year as senior coach, the Eagles under Simpson finished 9th at the end of the

2014 AFL season The 2014 AFL season was the 118th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured ei ...

, just missing out of the finals. The following year in the

2015 AFL season The 2015 AFL season was the 119th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured eigh ...

, Simpson and the Eagles surprised many commentators by their performance when the club finished 2nd at the end home & away rounds. Simpson then coached the West Coast Eagles to the

2015 AFL Grand Final The 2015 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the West Coast Eagles at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 3 October 2015. It was the 120th annual Grand Final of the Australian F ...

, which they fell short and lost to

by a margin of 46 points with the final score Hawthorn 16.11 (107) to West Coast Eagles 8.13 (61). In the following two seasons the Eagles made the finals, bowing out in the elimination final and the semi-final in 2016 and 2017 respectively. In Round 2, 2018 against

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...

, West Coast Eagles forwards coach

Jaymie Graham Jaymie Wayne Graham (born 6 February 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Kalgoorlie, where he played for the Mines Rovers Football Club, Gr ...

served as caretaker coach of the team after Simpson was forced to return to Perth due to a family health drama. In the

2018 AFL season The 2018 AFL season was the 122nd season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...

, Simpson coached the West Coast Eagles to a premiership victory in the

2018 AFL Grand Final The 2018 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the West Coast Eagles and the Collingwood Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2018. It was the 123rd annual grand final of the Australian ...

, when West Coast Eagles defeated Collingwood by a margin of five points, with the final score West Coast Eagles 11.13 (79) to Collingwood 11.8 (74).

Statistics

Playing statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 37 , , 2 , , 0 , , 0 , , 5 , , 6 , , 11 , , 1 , , 1 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , , 3.0 , , 5.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 37 , , 25 , , 16 , , 8 , , 164 , , 94 , , 258 , , 46 , , 35 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 6.6 , , 3.8 , , 10.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , 0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 37 , , 19 , , 5 , , 7 , , 153 , , 82 , , 235 , , 46 , , 23 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 8.1 , , 4.3 , , 12.4 , , 2.4 , , 1.2 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 37 , , 19 , , 9 , , 10 , , 175 , , 112 , , 287 , , 46 , , 45 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 9.2 , , 5.9 , , 15.1 , , 2.4 , , 2.4 , , 0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 25 , , 5 , , 9 , , 409 , , 136 , , 545 , , 113 , , 54 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 16.4 , , 5.4 , , 21.8 , , 4.5 , , 2.2 , , 7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 25 , , 5 , , 6 , , 376 , , 116 , , 492 , , 87 , , 83 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 15.0 , , 4.6 , , 19.7 , , 3.5 , , 3.3 , , 0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 21 , , 3 , , 0 , , 309 , , 146 , , 455 , , 88 , , 60 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 14.7 , , 7.0 , , 21.7 , , 4.2 , , 2.9 , , 2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 23 , , 7 , , 10 , , 403 , , 162 , , 565 , , 105 , , 72 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 17.5 , , 7.0 , , 24.6 , , 4.6 , , 3.1 , , 7 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 21 , , 11 , , 6 , , 327 , , 205 , , 532 , , 126 , , 45 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 15.6 , , 9.8 , , 25.3 , , 6.0 , , 2.1 , , 9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 22 , , 4 , , 8 , , 317 , , 227 , , 544 , , 118 , , 73 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 14.4 , , 10.3 , , 24.7 , , 5.4 , , 3.3 , , 10 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 21 , , 3 , , 1 , , 230 , , 183 , , 413 , , 84 , , 63 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 11.0 , , 8.7 , , 19.7 , , 4.0 , , 3.0 , , 7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 19 , , 2 , , 2 , , 226 , , 210 , , 436 , , 96 , , 58 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 11.9 , , 11.1 , , 22.9 , , 5.1 , , 3.1 , , 3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 25 , , 4 , , 4 , , 327 , , 283 , , 610 , , 104 , , 110 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 13.1 , , 11.3 , , 24.4 , , 4.2 , , 4.4 , , 13 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 21 , , 4 , , 5 , , 238 , , 267 , , 505 , , 77 , , 77 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 11.3 , , 12.7 , , 24.0 , , 3.7 , , 3.7 , , 7 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 18 , , 5 , , 4 , , 199 , , 243 , , 442 , , 95 , , 76 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 11.1 , , 13.5 , , 24.6 , , 5.3 , , 4.2 , , 7 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 306 ! 83 ! 80 ! 3858 ! 2472 ! 6330 ! 1232 ! 875 ! 0.3 ! 0.3 ! 12.6 ! 8.1 ! 20.7 ! 4.0 ! 2.9 ! 72

Coaching statistics

Honours and achievements

Playing honours

Team *

AFL Premiership This page is a complete chronological listing of VFL/AFL premiers. The Australian Football League (AFL), known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) until 1990, is the elite national competition in men's Australian rules football. The inaugur ...

(

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

McClelland Trophy The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football trophy which has been awarded each year since 1951 by the Australian Football League (known prior to 1990 as the Victorian Football League) to the best-performing club in the home-and-away sea ...

(

* Pre-Season Cup Winner (

): 1995, 1998 Individual *

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

: 2002 * North Melbourne F.C. Captain: 2004–2008 * International Rules Team: 2002, 2003 * AFL Rising Star Nominee:1996

Coaching honours

Team *

(

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Individual *

Jock McHale Medal Jock may refer to: Common meanings * Jock (stereotype), a North American term for a stereotypical male athlete * Jock, a derogatory term for Scottish people mostly used by the English * Short for jockstrap, an item of male protective undergarmen ...

: 2018 *

Personal life

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Adam 1976 births Living people North Melbourne Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club Premiership players Syd Barker Medal winners All-Australians (AFL) Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Northern Knights players Eltham Football Club players West Coast Eagles coaches West Coast Eagles Premiership coaches Australia international rules football team players All-Australian coaches Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players One-time VFL/AFL Premiership coaches People from the City of Banyule