He is creative, has an elite workrate and is hard at the ball and man – and that’s why Brent Harvey has come to love Jy Simpkin.
In his role as part-time skills coach and player mentor at Arden Street, the games record holder believes the young Roo has what it takes to make a big impact in the AFL.
“I’m loving him,” Harvey told the Herald Sun.
“Jy has a good crack, and when the ball is there to be won — the 50-50 — he’s making it 70-30 his way. He often goes into a pack and comes out with the football, that’s great to watch.”
The 19-year-old has been picked to debut on Sunday against the Eagles which comes as no surprise to Harvey.
“It’s fantastic for the future of the football club. He hasn’t put a foot wrong,” Harvey said.
Harvey is not the only one with huge wraps on Simpkin with Paul Roos having seen him first hand as coach of Melbourne. Simpkin trained with the Dees for a few weeks in 2016 as part of the AFL’s AIS program.
“I love this kid,” Roos declared on Fox Footy.
“He would have got a game in Round 1 last year for Melbourne. I would have picked him.
“We did some match simulation stuff at Melbourne and he was near BOG [Best on Ground] … he’s a very, very talented kid.