Adam Simpson's advice for Yze and Richmond as they enter rebuilding phase (SEN)

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Adam Simpson's advice for Yze and Richmond as they enter a rebuilding phase

By Nic Negrepontis
SEN
13 March 2025

Former West Coast coach Adam Simpson has provided some insight into how to motivate a team of players when the club is deep into a rebuild.

Richmond enters this phase in 2025 as clear favourites for the wooden spoon and with a significantly younger list.

Simpson believes coach Adem Yze will need to find small markers for the team to focus on, beyond just the result.

“The big rocks you chase are quarters won, turnover game, stoppage game – games won is obviously what we’re all looking for, but when you’re going through a rebuild it is the little things you try and chase,” Simson told SEN’s Whateley.

“It’s hard to see right now what Adem’s style of play is for example. He’ll definitely want spirit and to show some fight and that emotional stuff, but from a game-plan point of view you’ve got to start somewhere and starting with the scoreboard is not the right way to go about it.

“I looked at some rebuild sides that did it really well. Brisbane is the best in the last 10 years. When Chris Fagan took over they were poor and within three or four years, they were top four.

“Some of the things you do when you chase an identity is for example, Brisbane were the number one switching side when he took over and three years later they were 18th at that.

“Let’s pretend we’re Richmond. We want to be more direct, put more pressure on and get some time in forward half. If they’re the three things they want to get better at, you’re not going to see that on the scoreboard, but you might see it with ‘we’ve gone from first to last in switching, let’s get better at pressure, time in forward half is a win for us, win the inside 50 battle’, things like that.

“They’re the little rocks you need to chase before you get to games won, quarters won, and that’s what you present to the board. Instead of 18th, it’s going to be to be better. Those are the small steps.

“I suspect that’s the path Adem has taken and we won’t see the style of play just yet. The little things will start to add up and hopefully by the end of the season he’s got a bit of an identity.”

Simpson admits it is difficult to motivate players week to week when you’re constantly losing.

“Those little things will add up to a quarter that you win. The evidence they would have presented over the course of the last 12 months, the good quarters they’ve had, those little things hopefully marry up with the winning of the quarter and there’s your evidence,” he said.

“You just concentrate from a team point of view on the little pieces of the game.

“Like the first quarter against Collingwood (in the AAMI Community Series) a few weeks ago, I think they got thumped, but inside 50 numbers were good, turnovers in the front half, you might present at quarter time and say ‘don’t worry about the scoreboard, look at these numbers we’re chasing, we’ve just got to kick better’ or whatever the little things are.

“It’s been a challenge for my coaching staff over the last few years where how do you go into a game where you’re paying 10-to-1 and project some kind of motivation of success with what you’re chasing as a team rather than what the opposition are doing.”

Simpson’s West Coast side won five games in 2024, three games in 2023 and two games in 2022, coming off an era in contention and the 2018 flag.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2025/03/12/adam-simpsons-advice-for-yze-and-richmond-as-they-enter-a-rebuilding-phase