Walyalup (Fremantle Dockers) coach Justin Longmuir praises injured young gun Cooper Simpson’s courage

Walyalup (Fremantle) coach Justin Longmuir has heaped praise on youngster Cooper Simpson for sacrificing himself and courageously putting his body on the line against Yartapuulti (Port Adelaide). Simpson is set to miss an extended period of time after damaging his AC joint after crashing into Logan Evans in the opening minutes of Saturday night’s 49-point win at Optus Stadium. The 20-year-old was giving away height and weight to his opponent but didn’t hesitate to attack the ball. That aggression resulted in the Dockers kicking a goal. Longmuir said Simpson had set the standard for his teammates to follow. “I highlighted it after the game. Unfortunately, it’s going to cost him a bit of time. He’s got an AC joint and it looks like a pretty nasty one,” Longmuir said. “It’s real growth in his game to be able to own the line of the ball like he did and commit to that contest. The game of footy puts you in those situations – really vulnerable situations where you have to ‘go’ for the team. “I really loved his endeavour and his commitment to that contest. When our youngest players are doing that, it’s a great sign.” Simpson was playing only his third game for the season and fifth AFL match, and had shown encouraging improvement after moving to half-back. The Dockers won the game 15.10 (100) to 7.9 (51) despite having to defend for most of the first half. The Power locked down on Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong for large portions of the game. Serong still finished with 29 possessions and 12 clearances while Brayshaw compiled 21 disposals. Longmuir said the match highlighted key areas where the Dockers have improved. “There’s signs we are maturing as a team,” he said. “To be able to be hunted by Port - they tagged Andy and tagged Caleb. Those two worked through that really well and they were able to benefit the team with what they did. We worked through that which maybe three weeks ago we didn’t. I was really proud of the way the players adjusted, kept to the plan and fought their way through it. “We’ve been working a lot on our two way communication out there to be able to problem solve and be able to get messages from the bench to the player, from player to player. “A big part of the trade mark is connection and communication. We’ve been able to work our way through different situations a lot better.”