The 20-year-old played against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium in 2013, but senior coach Ross Lyon had chosen to rest many of his stars on the eve of the finals.
WATCH: Josh Simpson showered with Gatorade in the team song
Simpson started as the substitute but came on after half-time when midfielder David Mundy left the game with a head knock.
He showed good endeavour and finished the match with 13 possessions.
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After the customary first-win Gatorade shower in the rooms, Simpson said the game felt like his true debut.
“It was earned by me,” he said.
“The respect that you feel from the older guys on the list, like Pav (Matthew Pavlich) and (Aaron) Sandilands, it felt like this was my debut game.”
What would have pleased Freo’s coaching staff and his teammates the most was Simpson’s defensive pressure. He won a holding the ball free kick just minutes after entering the game and he applied five tackles in the second half.
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Simpson said he has attempted to base his game around Freo small forwards Michael Walters and Hayden Ballantyne, two of the best players in the league for pressure application in attack.
“Watching ‘Sonny’ and ‘Ballas’ do that week in, out week out, I thought that I should put myself around them and speak to them before the game,” he said.
Originally from the tiny outback town of Yalgoo, 500km north-east of Perth, the club’s first selection (number 16) from the 2012 National Draft did not make an impact in his first year in the system.
The demands entering this season from the coaches and leaders of the club were simple.
“Consistency, on and off the field,” Simpson said.
“(They said) keep on doing that, and when your chance to play (arrives), take it with both hands.”
