AFL 2023: West Coast coach Adam Simpson won’t take leave at end of season despite club push

Under-fire Adam Simpson says he won’t be taking extended leave at the end of the season days after West Coast confirmed it would encourage its embattled coach to take a long holiday.

Adam Simpson.

West Coast coach Adam Simpson plans to head overseas but has denied he is taking a three-month break at season’s end.

The Eagles told the Herald Sun on Wednesday night Simpson was set for an extended break in the post-season to refresh.

Simpson said he wanted to complete some personal development in the United States with family when the season concludes.

But Simpson said he would not be taking a three-month holiday as it was an important period to revamp the list in the trade and draft period and make tactical plans for next year.

“I have got some PD I would like to do at the end of the year. Maybe go to the States, maybe take the kids for a week or two,” Simpson said on Perth radio 6PR.

“There is a bit we have got to do with the draft and the trade period, getting our preseason right.

“The most important thing is the rest of this year and making sure we get something out of the season with our younger players and a bit of an identity in how we want to play.

“So, it’s the last thing on my mind (having a holiday), at the moment.”

The club was smashed by Hawthorn by 116 points on Sunday, in one of the worst losses in West Coast’s history.

Simpson remains contracted until the end of 2025, but is under mounting pressure to lift the club out of the AFL doldrums despite an enormous injury list.

It was reported on Channel 9 Simpson was set to take three months off at season’s end to recover from the stresses of a taxing season.

But Simpson said it was untrue.

Pressure is mounting on Adam Simpson after West Coast’s disastrous loss to Hawthorn.

“No. That’s not really what we are doing. That comes with the job a little bit and the situation we are in at the moment,” Simpson said.

“It’s a bit of Chinese whispers getting to the point where it’s three months. I’m not too stressed about it. I know what is going on.

“I don’t know what I would do for three months to be honest.”

Coaches regularly go on overseas trips at season’s end to visit top sporting clubs from the NBA and NFL to learn more about their coaching, fitness and recruiting practices.

An Eagles’ spokesman told the Herald Sun on Wednesday Simpson would coach the remainder of the season and take a longer break than normal in the postseason.

It comes only days after Damien Hardwick stepped down from Richmond’s senior coaching job due to burnout and Alastair Clarkson’s call to take leave due to the Hawthorn racism investigation.

“Adam will coach out the remainder of the season,” the West Coast spokesman told the Herald Sun.

“He is up for the challenge and keen to improve and develop our players and game plan.

“When our season ends he will be encouraged to take an extended break to refresh.”

Adam Simpson could be encouraged to take an extended break.

CONTRACT TYING SIMPSON TO EAGLES' REBUILD REVEALED

Jon Ralph, Exclusive

Adam Simpson is determined to stay the course navigating West Coast’s deep rebuild and has a watertight contract through to 2025 as added protection.

Simpson’s manager Shane Casley told the Herald Sun on Monday the 2018 premiership coach knew there would be tough times in the rebuild and he was up for the fight.

There was some conjecture his contract had been extended through to 2024, but the Herald Sun can confirm that deal goes through to the 2025 season and has no significant exit clauses.

Clubs which are officially “assisted” by the AFL have to cap payouts at six months no matter the length of the deal, which allowed St Kilda to minimise its payout to Brett Ratten.

But with West Coast a financial powerhouse, which declared a $3.46 million profit for last season, there are no such clauses.

West Coast’s season plunged to new lows with a 116-point loss to 18th-placed Hawthorn amid calls for Simpson to consider whether he is the man for the rebuild.

But Casley is adamant Simpson knew there would be tough moments as the Eagles battle an injury list that reached 20 unavailabilities when Luke Edwards and Tom Barrass missed the Hawks class with illness and Jermaine Jones suffered an ankle injury.

Adam Simpson is determined to stay the course at West Coast. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Casley confirmed the contract duration and said the club and Simpson signed the deal aware of the path ahead.

“From what I understand they are behind him and they know where they are at,” he said.

“There is a lot of work to do at the moment but if you appoint any coach at the moment, I don’t think they would do a much better job than Simmo.

“He does (want to stay the course). When he signed a new long-term deal he knew they would go through a rebuild at some point and he was up for that. The club was happy he was going to be the one to do it and he was happy to do it. That is why he signed a long term deal at the time.”

“The club know where they are at, and one or two losses like that are not going to help the cause but it won’t shape your path or direction in any way, shape or form. I have said to ‘Simmo’ a lot of times through the year that you are a good coach, you know what you are doing and there is no better qualified person there than you at the moment.”

West Coast seems likely to receive the No. 1 overall pick – and the chance to secure Vic Country mid Harley Reid – but on Monday premiership player Will Schofield told Fox Footy they should trade that pick for multiple early selections.

The Herald Sun reported last month the Eagles had no intention of trading away any of their established players with trade value, including Jeremy McGovern, Andrew Gaff, Elliot Yeo and Jack Darling.

But with Gaff battling for impact and Darling enduring a torrid season, before breaking his forearm, few of them have any trade currency.

McGovern just signed a two-year contract that leaves the club ample salary cap room to chase established talent.

Will Andrew Gaff be at the Eagles next year? Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos

Triple premiership Hawks Jordan Lewis told RSN on Monday the loss to Hawthorn was one the club’s darkest days.

“I think Adam Simpson needs to take some responsibility for a performance like that. This might be one of the worst performances that we’ve seen,” he said.

“To only have 29 inside 50s for two hours of football. If you’re on an AFL list you need to be more competent than that.

“ I don’t think we’ve seen too many more darker days in football to be honest.

“There’s probably one player in that team that could get on that plane and maybe have a nice comfy ride on the way home and that’s Dom Sheed. Everyone else failed to perform.”

Originally published as AFL 2023: West Coast coach Adam Simpson won’t take leave at end of season despite club push