{"id":690587,"date":"2026-05-24T01:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T01:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/690587\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T01:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T01:40:11","slug":"simpkins-powerful-no-36-tribute-inspires-stirring-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/690587\/","title":{"rendered":"Simpkin’s powerful No.36 tribute inspires stirring performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n After a tumultuous off-season also marred by tragedy, Jy Simpkin is adding to his lofty reputation this year\n <\/p>\n

Jy Simpkin handballs during the match between North Melbourne and Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium in round 11, 2026. Picture: Getty Images<\/p>\n

DISPLAYING No.36 on his boots, Jy Simpkin has remembered Phoenix Spicer in Sir Doug Nicholls Round with a crucial performance for North Melbourne.<\/p>\n

The Indigenous star was the Kangaroos’ best player in the first half on Saturday at Marvel Stadium, where it looked like Gold Coast was going to win easily.<\/p>\n

Simpkin finished with 29 disposals and kicked a goal as North stormed back to secure a memorable six-point win with a goal after the siren.<\/p>\n

He came into the season with a lot on his mind. Simpkin lost the captaincy after unsuccessfully seeking a move in last year’s trade period.<\/p>\n

Then on January 2, Spicer passed away from a medical episode<\/a>. The Indigenous player managed 12 games for North before he was delisted in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Phoenix Spicer ahead of the match between North Melbourne and Port Adelaide in R9, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos<\/p>\n

North coach Alastair Clarkson was rapt for Simpkin after Saturday’s game.<\/p>\n

“That hit Jy pretty hard, as it did all our footy club. They were blood brothers, those two,” Clarkson said of Spicer.<\/p>\n

“When we weren’t going so great in the first half, he was our best player.<\/p>\n

“I was so proud of what he stood up for, because it was the Sir Doug Nicholls Round and for ‘Spice’, he was wearing his number on his footy boots.<\/p>\n

“It just meant so much to him.”<\/p>\n

Jy Simpkin and Finn O’Sullivan look on during the pre-match ceremony ahead of the match between North Melbourne and Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium in round 11, 2026. Picture: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Simpkin has not missed a beat this season, despite the circumstances around his failed request for a trade<\/a>, and Clarkson said he remains one of North’s most important players.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It goes underestimated a little bit, just the burden you have when you’re a leader at the club – your club and team haven’t gone so well for a period of time,” Clarkson said.<\/p>\n

“The personal weight that burden has on any individual – in a lot of instances that’s the coach, but in a lot of instances it’s the captain.”<\/p>\n

Clarkson noted that early this season, Simpkin had unselfishly taken on some run-with midfield roles.<\/p>\n

“When he’s able to do really sacrificial roles for his team like that, it gives you a strong indication that they’re in boots and all. He’s certainly that way,” Clarkson said.<\/p>\n

While veterans such as Simpkin, Jack Darling and Caleb Daniel are not officially in the player leadership group, Clarkson said their standing in the team was critical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a tumultuous off-season also marred by tragedy, Jy Simpkin is adding to his lofty reputation this year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85,83],"class_list":["post-690587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports","tag-text"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}