Dom Sheed: Adam Simpson lauds ‘special connection’ with humble 2018 premiership hero

Dom Sheed’s first AFL win was also Adam Simpson’s first as Eagles coach.

Just over a decade later, what turned out to be Sheed’s last AFL win was also Simpson’s last as Eagles coach.

In between, Sheed iced the 2018 kick that made him a premiership hero and earned Simpson premiership coach status, with the latter lauding the “special connection” the two share after this week’s retirement announcement.

Simpson was full of praise for the outgoing midfielder, saying his personality had never changed despite the life-changing goal.

“He’s just such a quality person,” Simpson said on AFL 360 of Sheed, who played all bar one of his 165 games under the coach’s tutelage.

“He’s stayed as humble as you can be after achieving something like that.”

Reflecting on Sheed’s pinpoint kick from deep in the MCG pocket to give West Coast a late lead they would never surrender against Collingwood, Simpson said he “wasn’t surprised” that it had sailed through – despite not watching the moment as he focused on how his team needed to set up in the seconds that followed.

“The race at Subiaco was exactly there,” Simpson said of the south-east pocket location tying in with the raceway at their former training venue.

“We can’t get them off the track (without taking shots from there), and when they come on the track, we can’t get them on to do proper skills – they’re just having shots from that pocket.

“So if there was ever going to be a pocket, it would be that one.”

Simpson said Sheed’s ascension to grand final hero almost didn’t happen, with the left-footer’s role in the side in late 2018 only formalised after Andrew Gaff’s lengthy suspension for his hit on Andrew Brayshaw.

“It wasn’t a smooth first three or four years. He actually, in the ’18 season, was playing reserves football through form,” Simpson said.

“After what happened to Gaffy, when he got rubbed out for eight weeks, there became a spot available for a particular role. He came in and never looked back.

“It would have been a really interesting discussion if Gaffy was available coming into that game.”