AFL Covid news: Adam Simpson accepts on-field stakes are high as Jack Darling remains unvaccinated

Eagles coach Adam Simpson has addressed the elephant in the room as one of its most important players remains unvaccinated.

Adam Simpson says he is aware of the significant on-field stakes if Jack Darling remains unvaccinated this season as the Eagles continue to talk with the All Australian about his vaccination status.

Simpson admitted his hands were tied as the Eagles senior coach as the club’s hierarchy attempted to convince Darling to reverse his vaccine-hesitance stance.

But with the Eagles “a player down” their on-field prospects would take a huge hit if he missed the season given his role as a four-time leading goalkicker who kicked 42.19 last season.

According to Champion Data, Darling was the most targeted forward at West Coast last year and the seventh-highest rated key forward in the AFL.

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Jack Darling was the most targeted forward at the Eagles last season. Picture: Michael Klein

In a season with so much at stake after the Eagles won only two of their final nine games, the club’s best forward is out indefinitely and captain Luke Shuey is again hamstrung.

Shuey should be back in training in two weeks after two years of continual soft-tissue concerns but Simpson said it would not affect his captaincy prospects as the club closes in on an official position.

The Eagles coach, contracted to 2024, is attempting to spark the club’s ball movement and contest method and will need his star forward on the park early in the year.

The Herald Sun reported this week he is believed to be open to considering the novavax vaccine, which will be available as early as February 21.

“As a coach, we’re a player down and he’s a pretty important player, so I hope it gets worked out,” Simpson said.

“I’ve texted him a couple of times, but there’s not much we can do at the moment.

“It’s probably between Jack and the club to work through and the mandate is in place. It’s out of my hands personally.”

“Our hands are tied, there is not much we can do. It’s been Jack and the club. My job is to coach the team and get us playing well, the politics of it all is not really my area.

“My plan is to get him back. He was training really well until he left the club. Oscar Allen is part of our future, Josh Kennedy is playing another year which is important for us. (We have) Jake Waterman. It’s left a little hole but hopefully we get him back.”

Asked if Darling was still training, Simpson replied: “I would assume so”.

“There are always issues in the AFL. Can we stay on task is really important. Friendships haven’t been lost. We still care about Jack, we still want to support him as much as we can. Finding that balance is really important for us.”

Simpson is aware many fans believe West Coast is an ageing team with its best behind it but with a new coaching panel has helped revamp many of the club’s on-field fundamentals.

“We have changed a few things. We are training with different methods, we have new coaches, a new environment. Despite the doomsday sayers and predictions, we have had that in the past and worked through it. We are training pretty hard and training well and the results need to take care of themselves but we are going in optimistic.”

The insane new vax that could save AFL stars’ careers

— Nick Smart

Vaccine hold-outs Jack Darling and Jed Anderson could be available for the early rounds of the AFL season using a new vaccine made from moth cells and tree bark set to be available from February 21.

West Coast’s Darling and North Melbourne’s Anderson are both yet to fulfil AFL vaccine requirements but are in contrasting situations across different sides of Australia.

Darling is the only West Coast player yet to have a first vaccine dose and is so far refusing to be vaccinated with the strong support of his family, having also cited “doctors orders” and a medical issue.

Many vaccine-hesitant members of the community believe the new protein-based novavax vaccine will allay their safety fears, as the Australian government prepares from a roll-out from February 21 onwards.

Anderson’s first vaccine dose pre-Christmas produced an adverse reaction so he is understandably cautious about receiving a second dose of the same vaccine.

Leading Australian epidemiologist Catherine Bennett said on Monday the new vaccine was no safer than the MRNA vaccines including Pfizer that a vast majority of AFL players have taken under the AFL’s vaccine mandate.

Jack Darling’s career hangs by a thread. Picture: Getty Images

But the Deakin chair in Epidemiology welcomes players using novavax if it allows them to recommence their careers, unlike Carlton’s Liam Jones and Brisbane’s Cam Ellis-Yolmen.

Anderson is also believed to be open to using the novavax vaccine, which uses a protein molecule derived in a laboratory then injected to promote a response from the body.

She said a vaccine using ingredients including tree bark and moth cells was no more “natural” than Astrazeneca or MRNA vaccines.

But she said a player like Anderson who had suffered an adverse reaction to his first jab was the perfect candidate for an alternative vaccine.

If Darling takes his first vaccine shortly after it becomes available from February 21 onwards he could have a second dose three weeks later and play within the early weeks of the season.

Anderson would only need a second vaccination to be allowed to resume his AFL career before Round 1.

The AFL deadline for WA-based players to receive a second vaccination is February 18, with West Coast chairman Russell Gibbs saying this week the club was “very hopeful” he would resume his career with the club “soon”.

“Some people feel more comfortable knowing only a small amount of the protein is injected,” Bennett said in explaining why some players were holding out for novavax.

“They don’t understand how the process is turned off (under MRNA vaccines) and it worries them. If they don’t understand that and it worries them, this vaccine has appeal and some people have been waiting for a long time for it. They think of it as a more traditional style of vaccine in that the protein is created outside the body and injected.

Jed Anderson is considered a perfect candidate for the new vaccine. Picture: Michael Klein

“They don’t worry that the protein will continued to be made (in their bodies). That is what the misinformation has targeted. It’s not a true difference.

“The protein is made in insect cells. People like the sound of it because it’s got a bit of tree bark and some insect cells and it sounds very natural. For some people it allays their particular concerns in a way that will get more people off the bench and into vaccinated groups.

“There are also people who have had a reaction to one of their doses and it’s really important for them to have another vaccine available so we can work around their concerns.”

Darling is considered no chance to be given a vaccine exemption from the AFL, which has pushed hard to ensure nearly the entire AFL cohort has been vaccinated.

He will jeopardise a long-term AFL deal worth around $800,000 per season if he decides against being vaccinated, while also damaging the Eagles’ premiership chances.

The Eagles and Fremantle are still awaiting clarification from the WA government on when the hard border will come down, hopeful they will not have to spend the early week of the season on the road.

WA premier Mark McGowan has indefinitely postponed the WA border re-opening over omicron fears, but the league is hopeful by Round 1 clubs will be able to cross the border to play games in Perth.

What’s next for vax-resistant Lions midfielder

Brisbane Lions hard man Mitch Robinson has revealed an “emotional” phone call with teammate Cam Ellis-Yolmen after the midfielder was placed on the inactive list due to his refusal to be vaccinated.

The AFL announced last year that players and staff at WA, SA and Queensland clubs had to receive their first Covid shot by January 21 and their second jab by February 18.

When Ellis-Yolmen missed the cut off last Friday, he was moved to the inactive list. The Lions will look at replacing him with a rookie-listed player.

Ellis-Yolmen declined the opportunity to speak to the Lions’ playing group last week, but instead rang several teammates, including Robinson.

“It was tough,” Robinson said on his Rip Through It podcast.

“For him to say he’s retiring, he’s only 28, he’s so young and it’s not because of injury or anything like that, it’s a personal choice and the freedom to do what you want with your body. It’s s--t because Covid is here to stay, obviously.

“And for players like him, Liam Jones and some other players who probably won’t get the vaccination it’s a tough pill to swallow that it’s the reason your footy career gets cut short.”

“It was a pretty emotional conversation to have with someone to be honest.”

Former Brisbane Lions player Cam Ellis-Yolmen. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty

Robinson said he had a “lot of sympathy” for Ellis-Yolmen’s situation and also applauded the club’s ongoing support of his exiled teammate.

“He chose not to speak to the group, I’m guessing from an emotional centre point and having to come in and do all that stuff was a little bit full on for him,” Robinson said.

“He said (to me) he was going to step away from football for awhile and sort everything out.

“It was a pretty emotional conversation to have with someone to be honest, and particularly a close mate like Yolmen.

“I don’t know if the door is ajar in the future or whatever it might be, but I’m sure he’ll be still staying fit and getting ready for footy wherever he goes and plays.” 

Originally published as AFL Covid news: Adam Simpson accepts on-field stakes are high as Jack Darling remains unvaccinated