KANGAROOS skipper Adam Simpson deserves greater recognition from AFL followers, according to young midfield teammate Andrew Swallow.
The 31-year-old picked up 41 disposals in tough conditions to lead his side to an upset victory over Geelong at Skilled Stadium.
Swallow said the 247-game, dual premiership veteran was often overlooked in discussions about the great current players.
But he said Simpson's consistently high performances over 13 seasons, including superb form so far this year, warranted acknowledgment as one of the game's elite.
"I think he should be," Swallow said.
"He's been doing it for so long, he played in two premierships and played 200-and-something games.
"But he's held in high esteem at the club and so I think he's pretty happy with that."
Swallow said Simpson, who is averaging almost 30 disposals per game this season, had received a glowing endorsement from coach Dean Laidley after the match.
"He's been up in every game we've played and he's played exceptionally," he said.
"I think Dean at the end of the game pretty much just pointed him out as the guy who everyone can look to, to follow. He's done a wonderful job."
Swallow also revealed that some of the Kangaroos players travelled to Geelong the night before the game, in a bid to combat what had been a poor recent record there.
"A few of the boys went down early and stayed at a hotel down there, so we didn't have to get up too early and didn't have to drive," he said.
"We changed a few things in the warm-up and I think that worked because we were on from the start."
While the Kangaroos have turned their season around with wins over Brisbane and the Cats - after starting the year with three narrow losses - Swallow said not much had changed, other than a bit of luck.
"Even in the first three games we had a chance to win," he said.
"We didn't get over the line, but I think just a few things have started to go our way.
"We've kept at it and just tried to be upbeat and now with two wins on the board I think the boys are just going to take that and hopefully run with it for a bit longer."
He said the club would go into Saturday night's meeting with Sydney at Telstra Dome full of confidence.
"If a few things go our way and we just keep playing the way we want to play, I'm pretty sure that the boys are confident we can beat anyone at the moment," he said.