Having spent his first two years at Arden St playing predominantly as a small forward, Simpkin is looking to add another string to his bow by working his way into the midfield rotation.

“He’s been training the house down, so we’re hoping to see more of him in the midfield, but he’s versatile enough to play on the wing, at half-forward as well as through the middle,” stoppage coach Jarred Moore told North Media.

“We’re still yet to see exactly where he’s going to play, but he’s set himself up for a good year.”

A silky, evasive, fleet-of-foot player, the 20-year also has a hard-edge, and isn’t afraid to put his head over the ball and win the contested footy.

That’s why he’s been working closely with North’s inside and outside midfielders.

“He’s takes bits and pieces from everyone’s game,” Moore added.

“We sat down with him and showed him how Shaun Higgins plays, but he has worked a lot with Ben Cunnington on the inside and learnt what works best to combat players like Ben.”

His teammates are also expecting big things from Simpkin, who featured in all 22 games last season.

“For me, Jy Simpkin will be the one that has a breakout season,” defender Jamie Macmillan said.

“I think he’s had a really good couple of months. Last year he played a lot of games in the senior team, but this year I think he’ll make a really big impact on the field.

“I think he’s a really explosive player, so he’s learning a lot of stuff off Higgo on how to get out of the stoppages and I think he can be a bit of a weapon for us.”

His off-field traits are also revered, with North captain Jack Ziebell touting Simpkin as a future leader.

“Throughout the midfield, a guy like Jy Simpkin, I rate as a young guy who has the potential to be a great leader,” Ziebell said.

“The way he goes about his footy, the way he acts around the footy club, the way he respects people and his input is really good as well."