Former West Coast coach Adam Simpson has weighed in on Eagles co-captain Oscar Allen’s meeting with Sam Mitchell, saying more responsibility falls on the manager and player to ensure the matter stays confidential.
Reports recently emerged stating free-agent Allen had recently met with Mitchell about the possibility of joining the Hawks at year’s end, with the development drawing divisive reaction from the football public.
Demons great and AFL 360 co-host Garry Lyon on Tuesday night spoke out against a captain taking a meeting with a rival club, before urging the Eagles to get on the front foot and utilise their status as one of the wealthiest clubs in the land to turn the tables.
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On Wednesday night, Simpson, who coached Allen at the Eagles between 2018 and 2024, broke the situation down based on his vast experience.
“The scenario at the moment, you talk about the people involved … he (Allen) has probably said to his manager ‘listen, we might need to kick a few tyres here’,” Simpson began on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“And I don’t know what’s happened with the negotiations and what’s happened — whether it’s tenure, money, whatever it is — but there needs to be a conversation. And anyone who’s out of contract needs to start having that conversation (about the future), so there’s that.
“Then there’s Sam (Mitchell) and the bold nature with which he’s been recruiting, which … that’s new. And I’ve met a captain before, but it’s like ‘listen, I really want to keep this quiet for you and for me’.
“So, the difference at the moment is, Sam’s like ‘well, let’s get over there … and let’s get the sell going, let’s sell our vision’.
“I suppose who controls what happens and has that meeting, it’s over to the manager and the player now.”
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Simpson spoke of the need for the player’s management to get on the front foot when news of a player-club meeting leaked.
“What’s happening now is the manager has got to go ‘listen, the optics, if this gets out, let’s talk through it’,” Simpson continued.
“The manager and the player need to probably take a bit more responsibility on the ‘what ifs’, where it used to be the coaches would go ‘let’s make this a really quiet situation and make sure no one finds out about it’ … that’s probably the change in landscape.
“And no one’s done anything wrong I don’t think, but if anything, it was just having a good conversation about ‘if this gets out, what should we do?’ and now … what are they (the Eagles) going to do about the situation?
“That’s something I’m glad I’m not part of, to be honest.”
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Asked what comes next in Allen and West Coast’s circumstance, Simpson said “honesty”.
“That’s where you’d start. I think you’ve got to be inside the four walls and find out how everyone is, work through your messaging,” Simpson said.
“Everyone needs to be involved, and you start with ‘how’s everyone feeling?’ and ‘what’s the messaging to our players and our supporters?’ because the supporters are the ones going ‘what’s going on here?’ as much as the players.
“I think you start with honesty and work from there.”
Former Sydney coach John Longmire also weighed in on the discussion, comparing player movement in the past to the present.
“Many years ago, I think we’d all be sitting there scratching our heads about it, but it’s changed so much now,” he told Fox Footy.
“The key people at the club getting around the table and talking about it — is it an issue or isn’t it an issue? It might be just an issue for people outside the football club but may not be a huge issue to the players — you don’t know until you sit around and talk about it.
“Really, the ones in the locker room are the ones that matter, and getting a good feel from the other leaders around the place would be very important.”
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Asked if he’d have an issue with it if it was his captain considering his future, Longmire said: “I think these days you’d rather it not happen, but it does happen, and I think you’ve got to be a realist.
“The reality is it’s happening, and you’ve just got to understand this is the way the game’s going. There could very soon be a mid-season trade window (where) it opens up again to another level.
“It’s just the way it’s going. You look at world sport, I don’t think there’s any point in getting too frustrated about it.
“These things happen, and normally they happen behind closed doors and you don’t have to deal with them publicly, but now it’s public, you’ve just got to deal with it. It’s the way the game’s going.”
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Simpson said he was looking forward to his former club flexing its muscles with regards to turning the tables and being aggressive with their own pursuit of rival talent.
“It’s about the sell, really, and who sells the best,” he said.
“It’s about West Coast flexing a little bit and use a bit of the power they’ve got behind them. I’m really looking forward to seeing the next phase and really driving the pitch, because, realistically, West Coast is one of the biggest sporting clubs in the country.
“I think the whole new regime now is … still finding their feet, and it’s really tough on (first-year coach Andrew) McQualter at the moment to deal with this sort of stuff.
“He’s learning really quick what it means to be on the hot seat and have to deal with these things … you’ve got to manage these situations.
“But behind closed doors, it’s about ‘how well can we sell this club?’ and it’s not just the talent and the list, it’s the whole thing.
“It’s ‘what can we offer the families? What’s life after football look like for you? What’s your girlfriend doing right now? It’s all that type of thing is where the modern game is.”
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