NORTH Melbourne captain Adam Simpson says the club’s eventful off-season has only spurred the team to back-up a successful year on the field.
The Kangaroos have dominated the headlines over summer with constant speculation about relocating to the Gold Coast before new chairman James Brayshaw announced they would stay at
And despite reaching the preliminary final last year, many have predicted a Kangaroos downfall, which the skipper says is hardly surprising.
“I don’t think we’ve proven too much to the footy community yet. We need to back it up for another year,” Simpson said.
“I really believe the board’s settled, we’ve got a new CEO. Everything above us seems a lot more organised and really exciting.”
Simpson is comfortable with being written off and says the club is always at its best with a backs to the wall attitude.
“It’s always been a part of our psyche I suppose. The results on field are important but we know we have to succeed to survive. That pressure’s always been there and that’s not a problem for us,” he said.
Simpson said part of the criticism came from the team’s disappointing finals series, which included two heavy losses to Port Adelaide and
“I think it (the finals) proved that we’ve got a bit to work on,” he said.
“But it gave good experience for some young guys. It’s very hard to come in and be successful in finals when you’ve got no experience. Hopefully that’s in our back pockets and we can learn from that.”
Simpson, who was awarded AFL life membership on Monday, is now the second most experienced player on the Kangaroos’ list after the retirement of Glenn Archer.
He said Archer’s experience would be missed.
“He’s going to leave a hole. We can’t replace him but I’m sure we’ll survive.”
