Simpson: The difficulties in hosting retirement conversations

How difficult is it to have THE conversation with players who are nearing the end?

Former West Coast coach Adam Simpson experienced that scenario many times during his coaching career as he balanced the egos of veterans with the good of the team.

In 2014 - Simpson’s first season at the helm of the Eagles - he faced the delicate task of managing one particular veteran while building for the future.

A particular point of focus was in the ruck with veteran Dean Cox entering what would prove to be his final campaign. Simpson had emerging pair Nic Naitanui and Scott Lycett to consider as Cox’s career came to an end.

“In my first year I had an issue. I had Dean Cox and Naitanui, which is not a bad issue,” Simpson said on SEN Afternoons.

“But young Scott Lycett was coming through. Scotty Lycett couldn’t quite see that he had 10 more years of football and Dean Cox was 32 and battle-weary, but there was no way I was dropping him.

“I had this difficult scenario in the last five or six weeks where I had to give Scotty some games otherwise he was going to leave.

“In the end Dean retired on 292 games. He may have been able to go on again for 300. But we wouldn’t have kept Scott Lycett.

“I think he sort of knew that, and he stayed on as our ruck coach. We ended up making a Grand Final the next year, Scott Lycett was really important towards that.

“It was a difficult one because it was my first year.”

Simpson’s approach involved open and honest conversations which came about again in 2024 - his final year as coach - as Andrew Gaff prepared to bow out of the game.

He says similar things would be occurring at clubs like Collingwood and Geelong with superstar veterans Scott Pendlebury and Patrick Dangerfield respectively.

“If you fast forward that 12 years later and you’ve had a relationship with someone, Andrew Gaff for example, that’s a lot more difficult when he thinks he can continue to play,” Simmo added.

“The game had probably caught up with him, the team was going poorly. They’re the tough ones that every coach has got to deal with.

“I’m assuming with Pendlebury and Dangerfield there’s certain conversations. Then with the guys a rung under, veterans that would love to play on but may need to move on.”

As a player himself, it wasn’t necessary for Simpson to have those chats.

The dual North Melbourne premiership winner was ready to call time after 306 games back in 2009s, especially considering Darren Crocker was coaching on an interim basis after the exit of Danielle Laidley.

“My body was fine, I was 33, but we were on the way down as a footy club in terms of the ladder position,” Simpson said.

“I just didn’t want to do ice baths and the leadership meetings. You get the 17/18-year-old who has gone out too late and all that rubbish, I was just sick of it all.

“My form had dropped a little bit and I just thought it was time.”

However, it might be a slightly different story if Simpson was playing on good money in 2026.

“Whereas if that happened now I think you’d find a way to continue, just to freshen up and find a way. Obviously pay is a lot to different to back in the 2000s,” he said further.

“There’s a lot more reasons to carry on. Sometimes those conversations are direct - ‘We’ve been friends a long time, I think this is your last year. We want to do this the right way’.

“You might lose a relationship out of that, but if it’s needed you’ve got to do it.”