Past #7: Adam Simpson - 306 games for NM (95-09; 5th AT) - NM captain (04-08) - current WCE head coach

[NeoBlaze]

my own personal opinion is that cousins is an absolute gun and much better than simmo, however simmo has developed so quickly and his leadership qualities have really shone out. If it came to a choice between the two? I'd probably pick Cousins. Cousins basically is the engine room at West Coast...if he were in our midfield he too would get the opportunity to run rampant as simmo does, plus simmo's kicking is probably the worst in the AFL....

 

[Groucho]

As an onballer Cousins is a superb player but I would take Simmo for his versatility and marking ability (if only he had Yze's left leg!!).

 

[HoRsE]

I would call it a draw for all the above reasons. If I had to pick one for our side however, it would probably be Simmo, as we have plenty of Cousins types. Then again could be just my bias.

 

[Dingster]

Simmo proved his worth by winning the B&F last year and he keeps improving each year. Gerard Healy made a comment in the Wiz game that he is a true star.

However.....Cousins is the better player. West Coast also improved last year under Woosha and to ignore Cousins` role in that would be stretching the laws of reality!

 

[Groucho]

Originally posted by Dingster
Simmo proved his worth by winning the B&F last year and he keeps improving each year. Gerard Healy made a comment in the Wiz game that he is a true star.

And in the Essendon game last year Garry Lyon , after Simmo took a strong pack mark in slippery conditions at an important time,said admiringly "..he's a superstar, Adam Simpson!"

 

[Shinboners]

Whilst I'm sure that we'd be able to find a spot for Cousins if he came to Arden Street (and on pure football skill, you'd have to take Cousins over Simpson), for their role in the side, Simpson would be more valuable for us.

As Horse posted, we've got players who can play the Cousins role with Harvey being the best of them and the likes of Wells, Watson, Michael Stevens and Harding coming through.

But I don't think we would have anyone else who could be as flexible as Simpson. He can do the hack work, he can tag, you can stick him on the half back flank, he's a good overhead and pack mark, and under pressure, you can always rely on him to bomb the ball forward 50m and out of danger.

 

[shintemaster]

Absolutely.... we have enough players who can play Cousins role...
Simmo goes astray every now and again but he has more impact than many notice...

 

[Royal Blue And White]

Cousins by a mile........nuff said

 

[Squizy Taylor]

Cousins by a mile........nuff said

I like the points you have raised - very convincing.

 

[grinspoon]

wat a joke this thread is... cousins by the length of a rocca torp.

 

[Carlos]

Originally posted by grinspoon
wat a joke this thread is... cousins by the length of a rocca torp.

Do you ever try and support any of the assertions you make in your general, vague and blanket statements with any kind of evidence or basis for your opinion mate?

Why is Cousins that much better than a bloke who has 2 premiership medals, an All Oz and a B&F in a final 8 side under his bealt?

 

[Karanicolas]

We don't see enough WCE games in Melbourne to appreciate what a fantastic footballer Ben Cousins.

From the limited number of games I have seen, I would have rate Cousins as one of the best on-ballers in the game. If you watch him closely, you will see how he gets the ball in defensive 50 clears it, and then all of the sudden, is running past for a handball receive from the player with the ball in midfield.

His skills are fantastic and he can kick a goal. The only thing he lacks in comparison with Simpson is height and the ability to take a big grab in the midfield.

On the basis of the above I have to say that Cousins is ahead of Simpson.

 

[Carlos]

Cousins definately has a massive work rate, although i dont think Simmo is any slouch in this regard either.

I actually reckon Cousin's footskills are over-rated. He rarely kicks with distance and looks awkward when going short, but he is a better disposal by foot than Simmo (not hard!!).

Both are courageous and very much inside, engine room types. Cousins possibly has more pace than Simmo, but i'd say without seeing the stats that Simmo would be harder at it in the clinches and would get more hard balls and more clearances.

Both are very good tacklers and strong defensively allround, and yes, Simmo is superior overhead (in fact i'd rate him with Voss as the best pure onballer over his head).

Not a heap between them i would have thought.

 

[Squizy Taylor]

wat a joke this thread is... cousins by the length of a rocca torp.

and you appear to be an illiterate. I seriously do not understand what you are trying to say.

But then again Grinspoon aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed either.

 

[Karanicolas]

My impression of Cousins is that he actually kicks about 45-50 metres on the run consistently. But I will take more notice this year.

The thing that sticks in my mind is that he kicks a lot of goals on the run bursting into the forward 50, which may account for my impression of him kicking long distances.

Agree that workrates are similar although different in style.

The one thing that Simpson gives us more than any other midfielder in the AFL could, is the ability to take a (relieving) big grab from a hurried kick out of defence and also his taps from ball ups in the forward 50 to a running player.

 

[Squizy Taylor]

My impression of Cousins is that he actually kicks about 45-50 metres on the run consistently. But I will take more notice this year.

As I noted in my previous post, Cousins is very similar to Peter Bell. However, Bell has more heart.

It may have something to do with my hatred of the West Coast Eagles:

1. with a name like that why not base them in Los Angeles;

2. they support their team with no more fervour than they do the Wildcats or the Glory; nor with any appreciation for the contest or the efforts of the opposing side;

but I just cannot rate Cousins. I honestly fail to see how he can be compared against Voss and McLeod.

 

[Woodson]

Is Simmo still lackadaisical ?

Originally posted by Groucho
As an onballer Cousins is a superb player but I would take Simmo for his versatility and marking ability (if only he had Yze's left leg!!).

If he had Yze's left leg, you'd be talking SUPERSTAR status..better than the Magpie skipper

Has there ever been a similiar player like Simmo in the past at Arden St. ??? (Don't say John Holt..... )

Lackadaisical as ever (Mark Bayes of Arden St)

 

[Karanicolas]

Re: Is Simmo still lackadaisical ?

Originally posted by Woodson

Lackadaisical as ever (Mark Bayes of Arden St)

I wish he would kick like Mark Bayes!!

 

[RoosLuver]

Here is the link.

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=83653

 

[jonty12]

Nice little write-up on Simmo in today's Age......

Adam Simpson will fill two vastly different roles over the coming nights.

While tonight he will wear his familiar No. 7 in the Kangaroos midfield against Essendon at the Telstra Dome, tomorrow night's players' review will have Simpson in the type of attire he has skilfully avoided for the past seven years.

"We're doing some Queen song and Shagger (Shannon Grant) is Freddy Mercury so I'll just be a back-up to him," Simpson said.

On both occasions, the 27-year-old will be more than happy for those around him to take the spotlight.

In football terms, Simpson is like the drummer in a rock band - his colleagues joke about his skills, but acknowledge in the same breath that he is indispensable.



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Despite him being one of the league's top kick-getters for the past five seasons, both Simpson and his teammates are not afraid to poke fun at his kicking style.

"I don't think it's my kicking style, I think it's just my kicks," he joked. "I'm not the greatest kick in the world; I've got other assets, I suppose.

"It's probably the weakest thing in my game and I'm always working on it, trying to get better, and especially with the new game plan that we've got which is a lot more skill-orientated.

"Sometimes the boys get into me. Denis used to call them karate kicks; he used to say, 'None of those karate kicks out of the centre', so everyone started calling me Chuck Norris," he said.

Jokes aside, it is Simpson's ability to get the ball that is truly phenomenal.

Already this season he has got boot to ball 177 times, placing him seventh in the competition after 11 rounds. He leads the league in clearances after stoppages in play, and is equal leader in clearances from centre bounces.

Twice in his eight-year career, he has accumulated more than 400 kicks in season - a feat that many modern midfield luminaries, including Shane Crawford, Ben Cousins and Michael Voss, have yet to achieve.

Despite boasting two premiership medallions, All-Australian selection and a Kangaroos best and fairest, Simpson insists he is not bothered by his low profile.

In typically modest style, he says his kick tallies were boosted by the game plan of former Kangaroos coach Denis Pagan. "There's a big, big difference between getting the footy and doing something with it," he said.

"Our game plan with Denis was get the ball, get it on the boot and get it in there . . . I don't know how many handballs I would have had."

After seven years under Pagan, Simpson admits that adjusting to Dean Laidley's short-kicking game has taken time. "Initially I didn't know how I was going to go. I thought maybe I was going to be traded to Carlton by the end of the year because Denis's game plan suited me a fair bit," he said.

"It just took time to get confidence in the new plan; Stevo (Anthony Stevens) and Arch (Glenn Archer) were a bit the same."

By his own admission, Laidley has been "pretty hard" on the reigning club best and fairest since returning to Arden Street this year.

"I've sort of been trying to fix a few things in his game and I reckon he is coming along in leaps and bounds," Laidley said. "He is already a good player but I think he can become a much better player in the longer term for the club."

Simpson said the suggestions made by Laidley were things that any good coach would pick up.

"Dean's main issue was where I get it on the field . . . it's more positioning yourself so when you get your possessions you are a little bit more damaging than where I was getting the ball," Simpson said.

Far from having a problem with the new regime, Simpson thinks the new approach has fostered the "shinboner" spirit and helped push the Kangaroos to sixth position on the ladder.

"The way Dean sets up the week, we spend a lot more time at the club. We might get there at 10 o'clock in the morning and might leave at five o'clock at night," he said.

Simpson believes that the Kangaroos playing group has been under-rated for some time. "'But that's probably the way we like it," he said.

"If you can get the respect of people within the footy community and from your peers and your teammates, that's about all you can hope for, I reckon."

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/12/1055220706812.html

 

[Moti]

At least he knows he can't kick.

Love the description, karate kicks!

 

[daggles]

my opinion for what its worth is that the problem is in his hands not his feet . Ive noticed he tends to turn the ball in his hands while trying to guide it onto his boot , causing the ' karate squiff kick " i feel he d be better off just letting it drop straight from his hands therefore allowing the ball to hit his boot on a more vertical position. It may look a bit unco ordinated but grace has never been his strength. his versatility and footy nous are his main attributes . What do you think?

 

[sross]

On Channel 10 News. No news of who is included.

 

[scottywiper]

At the press conference, Dean Laidley declared that Simmo would be back for the Collingwood game...

 

[TheNextBigThing]

Simmo

Thats good to hear, just hope it true.