Adam Simpson

Playing career

North Melbourne 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 1996 AFL 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.

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

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.

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 at Hawthorn in the 2010 AFL season, and he was the midfield & forward coach for the Hawks when the club won the premiership in the 2013 AFL Grand Final.

West Coast Eagles senior coach (2014-2024) In October 2013, the West Coast Eagles appointed Simpson as senior coach for the 2014 season. He replaced John Worsfold who stood down after a disappointing 2013 season. Simpson was selected ahead of applicants Scott Burns, Leigh Tudor and Peter Sumich. In his first year as senior coach, the Eagles under Simpson finished 9th at the end of the 2014 AFL season, just missing out of the finals. The following year in the 2015 AFL season, 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, which they fell short and lost to Hawthorn 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 at Docklands Stadium, West Coast Eagles forwards coach Jaymie Graham 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, Simpson coached the West Coast Eagles to a premiership in the 2018 AFL Grand Final, 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).

After three consecutive years without making the finals, including one 'horror' season in 2023, where West Coast Eagles finished last on the ladder, on July 9th, 2024, in the middle of the 2024 season, after Round 17, 2024, with no improvement in on-field performance with the Eagles sitting at sixteenth (third-last) on the ladder, Simpson stood down as senior coach of the West Coast Eagles in a mutual agreement with the club that Simpson's 11-year tenure as senior coach would come to an end, effective immediately. Simpson was replaced by assistant coach Jarrad Schofield as caretaker senior coach for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Carlton Football Club (2026-present) Simpson has served a part-time role at the Carlton Football Club from 2026. Simpson is the Director of Coaching and was an advisor to former senior coach Michael Voss.

Statistics

Playing statistics

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 Team Year Regular season FinalsWon Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result WCE 2014 11 11 0 9th (out of 18) — — — — WCE 2015 16 5 1 2nd (out of 18) 2 1 Lost 2015 AFL Grand Final WCE 2016 16 6 0 6th (out of 18) 0 1 Lost Elimination Final WCE 2017 12 10 0 8th (out of 18) 1 1 Lost Semi Final WCE 2018 15 6 0 .714 2nd (out of 18) 3 0 Won 2018 AFL Grand Final WCE 2019 15 7 0 5th (out of 18) 1 1 Lost Semi Final WCE 2020 12 5 0 5th (out of 18) 0 1 Lost Elimination Final WCE 2021 10 12 0 9th (out of 18) — — — — WCE 2022 2 20 0 17th (out of 18) — — — — WCE 2023 3 20 0 18th (out of 18) — — — —WCE20243130.18616th (out of 18)———Resigned after round 18.Total 123 119 1 .573 7 5

Honours and achievements

Playing honours Team AFL Premiership (North Melbourne): 1996, 1999 McClelland Trophy (North Melbourne): 1998 Pre-Season Cup Winner (North Melbourne): 1995, 1998

Individual All-Australian: 2002 Syd Barker Medal: 2002 North Melbourne F.C. Captain: 2004–2008 International Rules Team: 2002, 2003 AFL Rising Star Nominee:1996

Coaching honours Team AFL Premiership (West Coast): 2018 Individual Jock McHale Medal: 2018 All-Australian: 2018

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