Cooper Simpson (born 13 February 2005) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the

Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represent the port city of Fr ...

in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life and career

Originally from

Mount Martha Mount Martha is a suburb on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Mount Martha recorded a pop ...

on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Ge ...

, Simpson was drafted by Fremantle with the 35th selection in the

2023 AFL draft The 2023 AFL draft will consist of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) can trade and recruit players during and following the completion of the 2023 AFL season. Key Dates 2023 mid-season rookie ...

from the

Dandenong Stingrays The Dandenong Southern Stingrays are an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. 1992 saw the birth of the Southern Stingrays, developed under the leadership of Steve Kennedy (Regional ...

in the

Talent League The Talent League (also known as the Coates Hire, Coates Talent League under naming rights and previously as the National Australia Bank, NAB League and Transport Accident Commission, TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representa ...

, where he was a co-captain. After winning the Stingray's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award as a 17-year-old in 2022, his 2023 season was initially affected by

glandular fever In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

and then again when he suffered a bad

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in his leg in his opening game for Victoria Country at the 2023

AFL National Under 18 Championships The AFL Under-19 Championships (for sponsorship reasons, the NAB AFL Under-19 Championships) is an annual Australian national underage representative championship in Australian rules football tournament. It is seen as one of the main pathways ...

AFL career

Simpson made his AFL debut for Fremantle in round 7 of the

2024 AFL season The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the ga ...

Perth Stadium Perth Stadium, currently known as Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Burswood, Western Australia, Burswood. It was completed in late 2017 and officially open ...

against the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the ...

. Simpson started as the substitute but came into the game after quarter time for teammate,

Josh Draper Joshua Draper is an Australian rules footballer, currently playing for Fremantle in the Australian Football League. AFL Career Draper was signed as a Category B Rookie from 's Next Generation Academy in the 2022 AFL draft. He qualified due t ...

, who suffered a hamstring injury.

Statistics

AFL Statistics

''Updated to the end of the 2024 season''. , - ,

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***'' Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney ...

, , , , 29 , 2 , , 0 , , 0 , , 8 , , 3 , , 11 , , 4 , , 2 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 4.0 , , 1.5 , , 5.5 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , - ,

2025 Predicted and scheduled events *January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1929 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** The American FAA will have been imp ...

, , , , 29 , 0 , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , - class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 , Career ! 2 !! 0 !! 0 !! 8 !! 3 !! 11 !! 4 !! 2 !! 0.0 !! 0.0 !! 4.0 !! 1.5 !! 5.5 !! 2.0 !! 1.5

WAFL Statistics

''Updated to the end of round 3, 2025''. , - ,

, ,

Peel Thunder The Peel Thunder Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The team is based in Mandurah, Western Australia, with their home ground being Rushton Park. T ...

, , 15 , 18 , , 16 , , 12 , , 109 , , 72 , , 181 , , 35 , , 69 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 6.1 , , 4.0 , , 10.1 , , 1.9 , , 3.8 , - ,

, ,

, , 29 , 3 , , 0 , , 0 , , 51 , , 14 , , 65 , , 10 , , 4 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 17.0 , , 4.7 , , 21.7 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , - class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 , Career ! 21 !! 16 !! 12 !! 160 !! 86 !! 246 !! 45 !! 73 !! 0.8 !! 0.6 !! 7.6 !! 4.1 !! 11.7 !! 2.1 !! 3.5

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Cooper 2005 births Living people Fremantle Football Club players Dandenong Stingrays players Casey Demons players Peel Thunder Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) 21st-century Australian sportsmen