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The Howie Games

265: Adam Simpson (Part A)

14 Apr 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What experiences shaped Adam Simpson's football journey?

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A listener production. Okay, are you recording?

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10.803 - 21.857 Howie

Welcome, Legends. You are listening to episode 265 of the Howie Games Part A featuring dual AFL Premiership player and Premiership coach Adam Simpson.

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Adam Simpson threads his way through, gets the kick away to what goal? Unbelievable! Number seven, Adam Simpson.

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32.38 - 46.518 Howie

Our fans and supporters all over Australia. We can't wait to bring that cup home. So thank you so much. Simmo, as he is universally known, has lived quite the football life.

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From a kid arriving at the Kangaroos, surrounded by stars of the game, winning two flags, then moving into coaching where he took the Eagles to the top in one of the great modern grand finals before living through some very tough years where the Eagles got belted week in, week out.

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So you search and try to find, but you don't know where to go. So many thoughts flood through your mind. You're confused and want to know.

Chapter 2: How did Adam Simpson handle the pressure of being sacked?

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Mystery, what is to be? So much more than meets the eye. Listen to me, time is your key. You will find out by and by.

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88.338 - 111.151 Howie

He's a funny dude, Simo, a funny dude. He's got a very dry sense of humour, which is now being displayed in the media on Fox Footy and at SEN. After this recording, example of his sense of humour, after this recording, he sent me a message. I don't know how you're going to polish that turd. That's Simmo. Very self-deprecating, as you're about to hear. By the way, no polishing required.

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Enjoy the story of Adam Simpson. Old school.

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So when you search and then you find And know just where to go And thoughts that once used to cloud your mind You see clearly and now you know, mystery, what is to be revealed in King Selassie.

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Chapter 3: What memorable moments did Adam share from his playing days?

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Come on children, tread with me, we want to reach Mount Sinai.

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139.165 - 160.313 Howie

Well, this is a man that has an unbelievable pedigree in football. He's a two-time premiership player with North Melbourne. He's an assistant premiership coach with the Hawks. He is a premiership coach with the West Coast Eagles. But more than that, he is a father of a big brood. And these days, on Fox Footy and on SEN on the Wireless, a multimedia megastar.

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Adam Simpson, welcome to the Howie Gage.

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163.076 - 175.548 Howie

Yeah, thanks, Howie. Yeah, not quite. We're not quite in that realm for all aspects, to be honest. We were just outside and you asked me how long the show's been going. I said, we've been going 10 years. You said, oh, you're out, I guess. That's why you need to be on.

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Chapter 4: What lessons did Adam learn from coaching mistakes?

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I said, no, I'll tell you the reason on the show why I wanted you on. You were writing articles in the paper last year in the Herald Sun. Yeah, yeah. And I loved the stories that you would tie in that had gone over – 30-plus years of football to the modern game.

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So if you were talking about Nick Dacos, for example, you had an example of playing with Anthony Rock in a certain situation, and I just thought you had the ability to tell these wonderful stories in print, and I thought he must have so many wonderful stories. Yeah, good ghostwriter, Mark Duffield. You should have got him on, mate. You pulled the wrong rein. But no, I got drafted when I was 17.

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And last year was the first year out of the AFL club land. So, yeah, it's been a different world for me up until 12 months ago. You keep an eye on other things outside the game, but there's, yeah, finish first, finish last. So I've been through it all. Well, you just sat here before we hit record and said almost you've been institutionalized and now you're out of the institution.

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Chapter 5: How did the Shinboner spirit influence the Kangaroos in the 90s?

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How is it? It's good. It's good. It's been great for me. Footy's set me up, you know, my family. WA was great. I was there for 12 years. My time at North was, you know, it was fantastic. I got drafted at the right time. So I spent four years at Hawthorne just when they were at the cusp. So, you know, sometimes it's just the draft, you know, pick 14, I went to North.

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If I had gone to pick 15, it was Hawthorne and they were terrible for 10 years. It was their only bad generation. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

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Chapter 6: What insights does Adam provide about leadership and legacy?

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And I can't say I would have turned it around. Of course you wouldn't. I thought it was different. So, yeah, so a bit of right place, right time. But, yeah, to be in the industry for 30-plus years, it's been a great ride.

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I had the pleasure of working for two years with Ross Lyon when he was out of coaching on the wireless here at Triple L. And I think he gave us an insight into the pressures of coaching and dealing with the media. And I watch him now in press conferences and I think, oh, he's picked that up from working in the media. Well, why did he go back? I don't know.

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What's he doing?

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303.288 - 318.988 Howie

Probably a million dollars is why he went back. The obvious question will come with, are you going to go back? But how are you finding the media? Because you are... You were lionized when you were a premiership coach and you were torn down when things weren't going at the Eagles in a media –

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Chapter 7: How does Adam reflect on his transition from player to commentator?

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cycle that we can get to. But how are you finding on the other side of the fence, mate? And you're doing a wonderful job, so congratulations. Yeah, I'm just starting. I feel like a rookie again. So that's a good feeling. The sense of loss once you leave a job like senior coach, it's a bit like when you get delisted or you retire as a player. There's holes there in your life that you need to fill.

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So it's sort of, it's weaned me off the game a little bit going into the media because you get to go to the footy every week. It's sort of relevant. a little bit too, and I think you'd miss that. No one would admit it, but to be relevant in the AFL sense and you're a senior coach and that sort of stuff, you do get used to that.

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So your identity, you don't want to be defined by your footy as your identity, but it's natural, isn't it? So it sort of keeps me connected to the game a little bit and also keeps me a little bit relevant. The money's okay.

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Chapter 8: What personal stories did Adam share about his family and parenting?

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And while I'm working out in the next phase of my life, I'm 50 now too. When did you turn 50? A couple of weeks ago. How'd that go for you? Positive, negative? I left the country. I was that disappointed that I was 50. I went on a surf trip. Yeah, I look 50. You look 30. Well, thank you. I look 60. That's the gray hair from coaching. Yeah. How was it? It was fine. How was it?

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You didn't lock yourself in the room? No, I had a... Do you have a 50th? Did you? Did you? Oh, no, because I was in the back box of Indonesia with three surf buddies, one of them who I'd had to send my passport to.

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So I was trying to keep it that low key, get up in the morning, 6 a.m., they've all got happy birthday howie, they've told the whole surf camp, I get serenaded by a cross-dressing Balinese chef at 6 p.m. that night. So it wasn't as low key as I was hoping for. What about yours? Yeah, I did not into that. But I just did a WhatsApp with past players. And a lot of them, they weren't close friends.

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It was just guys I knew over my north journey. So it wasn't family. It wasn't friends, old friends from school. It was no one from WA or West Coast. It was more just the old north mates. And it was just the past players get together. Right. So it wasn't a – there was no speeches or anything like that. It was just at a pub in Melbourne. And it was an excuse to get the generations together. So –

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449.26 - 469.277 Howie

I don't know if you can even call that a 50th. I think it is. It was 20 or 30 blokes and then I just had lunch with mum and dad and my wife's parents and my kids. And on we go. And on we go, mate. Yeah, it comes and goes pretty quick. It's awkward, isn't it, having these things for yourself? I mean, even doing this, it feels a little bit self-indulgent but you're only 50 once, I suppose.

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Mate, I came back from overseas with work and I want to talk to you about your kids, but my young bloke the other day, we were playing front yard cricket. He's 14. He's obsessed with cricket. He hit it on drive back at me and I went to grab it and I was a bit slow and I went to the tree. So I went for four. And he's like, I watched those hammies, old man. And I didn't say it to him at the time.

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It pissed me off that he was saying that. And I remember my dad saying, don't call me, don't talk about me as your old man. All right. And I'm similarly sensitive about it now. Are you really? I am. You've got issues. I'm not too worried about it. I want to ask you about your kids, but so... The media, has it been different? Has it been similar? Are you starting to express yourself?

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Do you feel more comfortable? How are you going with it? I'm not quite sure. There's no feedback in the media. There is. You either get a pay rise or get the sack. That's your feedback. What about if you just get the same as we were on last year? You're going okay, but you're still on probation. I don't know. Look, you're guarded as a senior coach because you're representing other people.

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You're representing 100,000 members and your players and the football club. So you've always got in the back of your mind, what does the club need to hear from me right now? It's different in the media. You can be a little bit more open and opinionated. But I've got so many connections in the industry, I also am aware of – I'm doing a bit of work at Carlton as well.

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