Emerging midfielder Jy Simpkin has credited Ben Cunnington and Jed Anderson for helping him transition into an on-ball role.
Speaking on North Media’s In Review podcast, the number 12 explained how his off-field relationship with the pair helps him on game day.
“Jed (Anderson), Ben (Cunnington) and I all stuck together pretty strongly,” Simpkin said.
“Each week they’d both help me out with my reviews, and so did Shaun (Higgins) as well, so they were really good for me. ”
Avid fishermen, Simpkin, Cunnington and Anderson can often be found casting a line around Victoria throughout the season in a bid to escape the AFL bubble.
“We only talk about football at the club,” Simpkin said.
“Ben always reminds me to try and keep as mentally refreshed as I can, and that’s why he loves going out fishing and that’s why I love going out with him.
“There’s no footy when we go out fishing, so it’s a good escape, I think it really helps me a lot.”
With the intent of boosting the side’s midfield depth, Simpkin trained with the on-ballers over the pre-season, and was able to put his learnings to the test on multiple occasions throughout the year.
In Round 6 against Port Adelaide, he stood up in the absence of Shaun Higgins, collecting a career-high 22 disposals, and had a similar performance in Round 11, collecting 21 touches.
The 20-year-old says maintaining a consistent level of performance across a full season will be his primary focus in 2019.
“Looking back there’s been a lot of ups and downs over the year, some games I play OK and get a bit of the ball, and other games I’m out and nowhere to be seen,” Simpkin said.
“It’s all a big learning curve for myself at this stage in my development.
“Going forward all I can do is train hard this off-season and pre-season to hopefully set myself up for a big year next year.
“After games, especially when you lose, you’ve had no impact and you’ve barely touched the ball, it’s always pretty hard.
“I have high expectations of myself and when I come across those things I do get a little flat at times.
“Ben (Cunnington) helps me a lot, we message a fair bit and he’s always trying to take my mind off things, so that’s why we go out fishing to take our minds completely off football.”
Yet to complete a proper AFL pre-season because of a series of injuries, the young Roo hopes he can get a good run at things over the summer.
“It’s exciting times ahead and I can’t wait to get amongst it again next year.”
Listen to Jy Simpkin's 'In Review' podcast here:
