One of the masterminds of Hawthorn’s premiersip is heading to Western Australia to coach the West Coast Eagles.
Former North Melbourne captain and Hawks assistant coach Adam Simpson was appointed yesterday, five days after playing a key role in Hawthorn’s grand final win over Fremantle.
It is the 37-year-old’s first senior coaching appointment and he will front the media today in Perth.
Simpson has served the perfect apprenticeship – a 306-game playing career at North Melbourne that featured two premierships and five years as captain, following by four years as an assistant under widely-respected Hawthorn senior coach Alastair Clarkson.
He won the job ahead of a strong field that featured current Eagles assistant Scott Burns, Fremantle deputy Peter Sumich and Sydney assistant Leigh Tudor.
Simpson and Sumich were considered the frontrunners.
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Sumich was a star forward at West Coast and also served there as an assistant coach before going to the Dockers two years ago.
Like Simpson, he has been considered a senior coach-in-waiting.
Simpson will have a three-year deal and he takes over from Eagles legend John Worsfold, who coached them for 12 years before leaving the job early last month.
“I am grateful for this opportunity and I look forward to moving across to Perth with my family and settling in to the challenge ahead,” Simpson said in a club statement.
“I have always admired West Coast from afar and I believe the list has an exciting mix of senior and emerging young players.”
Simpson, a star midfielder, worked at Hawthorn as their stoppages coach from 2010-12 and this year was in charge of their forwards.
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He singled out Clarkson and Hawks football manager Chris Fagan for the help they gave him.
“Hawthorn have been fantastic for me in the last four years and it was certainly a great experience to be a part of the coaching group as the club achieved the ultimate success last Saturday,” he said.
“Being so closely involved from a coaching perspective has provided me with a sense of the hard work which has to be done to achieve a premiership.
“I obviously enjoyed that feeling as a player, but it is different as a coach.
“I will move across to Perth as soon as possible and I look forward to meeting the players and working with them from the start of pre-season.”
Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said in a club statement that Simpson was ready for the senior coaching hot seat.
“In his four years at Hawthorn, Adam has fostered a terrific relationship with the playing group and displayed a high level of excellence across all facets of his coaching duties,” Clarkson said.
“He is well-placed for the transition into senior coaching, which is thoroughly deserved on the back of an impressive coaching apprenticeship and a distinguished playing career.”
In other coaching moves Mark Harvey has quit Brisbane Lions’ AFL coaching staff amid speculation the former Bomber is a strong candidate along with Mark Thompson for the senior coaching role at Essendon.
A former Fremantle senior coach Harvey has left the Lions after two seasons as an assistant and was caretaker late in the season after the departure of Michael Voss.
Essendon are seeking a senior coach for next year while James Hird serves a 12-month ban over the club’s supplements saga.
Harvey and Essendon assistant Mark Thompson, a two-time premiership coach at Geelong, are among the top candidates.
