Return Of Kade Simpson

Carlton legend Kade Simpson has decided he wants to return to AFL football. Simpson, who turns 37 in May, was not offered a new contract by the Blues and, according to the 2020 AFL Record Season Guide he "retired". He has been out of the game for a little over six months but said he wants to return after watching the opening rounds of the 2021 season. Simpson, who played 342 games across fifteen seasons, spoke on a podcast hosted by former teammate Dylan Buckley (Dyl and Friends), and said, "I still wish I was playing, like 100 percent. Even now, for some stupid reason, I still run and flog myself. In the back of my head, I’m like, just imagine if someone now with the mid-season draft and all that sort of stuff. I’m pretty fit still. If someone did "come knocking, I’m ready. I wouldn’t be like ‘oh f--k I haven’t done a thing for six months’. I’m still fit."

Under AFL rules, a player must be retired for a year to be eligible for the midseason draft, but he could be eligible since it seems he was

officially delisted due to not being offered a contract. However, the rules also do not allow a club to select a player they delisted, which rules out Carlton. That does not bother Simpson, who said he will always be a Carlton person but still wants to play, "... I still feel like I’ve got something left. I still have the desire to compete and that hasn’t gone away. Even with the way the game is played as well, this year is very different to last year which would again suit me as well. I’m dealing with retirement but haven’t dealt with it. Everyone is like, ‘it’s good to retire with a little bit left in the tank’ and I think … ‘What?’ That makes no sense to me, I want to run that thing dry. That’s like dying with money in the bank."

Source: sportingnews.com.au