Look, we won’t let on about our disappointment just in case a Bombers fan is reading this; instead we want to again highlight the superb efforts of one particular player who is routinely nominated at Mike & Dan headquarters week in week out for his non-stop efforts that give us all hope, no matter the situation.  Kade Simpson, winner of last year’s Play of the Year, and close to a number of nominations in Season 2008, wins this week’s Play of the Week for nailing that goal in the last that got our ill-fated comeback on track…

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Kade, you win this week’s Play of the Week for that rollicking goal in the last to set up our comeback.  You’ve been close before with some good comeback goals as well…how did this week’s goal feel?

Thanks, well it felt pretty good at the time, I suppose it did start our comeback, I can remember just swinging onto the left and through it went, it came off the boot sweetly and yeah what more can I say…

What was the message at ¾ time…did you all know we could hit the front?

Well that was our aim, it all happened really quickly at the start of the last. You know it’s really disappointing to lose a game like that, you know we let ourselves down, but what it does show and what we have learnt in the last few weeks is that games can change really quickly, giving you belief when your down and on the flip side you need to stay on top of things when your onto of things.

Hey why are we always coming back? Can’t we have one of those always-in-front games for a change? Or even a 10 goal victory?

10 goals sounds good to me, I wish we’d try that one for a change! Really its probably a credit to Justin Cordy and our fitness team, we’ve done well recently in last quarters but unfortunately it didn’t continue throughout the entire last quarter on Sunday.

Carlton is known as a clearance team, and Essendon perhaps not quite yet, yet they killed us.  What was happening out there?

I know it’s said a fair bit these days but perhaps they were the hunters on the weekend, they probably knew that’s an area they had to challenge us in to win the game, they were on top of us on the weekend.

That's twice in the one year that the Bombers have beaten us - we're
almost single-handedly depriving them of a priority pick!  Do they rise to the occasion or is it about matchups?

Carlton v Essendon games are big games, so they probably rise to the occasion but I would like to think we do as well. This year they have got it on us, it just makes us hungrier to turn it around.

How disappointed was the playing group after the loss? What did Ratts say about it in relation to the previous two wins?

Really disappointed, we let everyone down, the two previous wins were great but we needed to capitalise on the weekend and we failed to do so, Ratts really didn’t need to tell us, we knew ourselves. But in saying that we learnt a lot on the weekend, we were in a position our group had never been in before and as I said I think we learnt a lot.

We understand from the press that Ratten has banned talk of finals, but was there much talk about it from the players from only one week in the 8?

No there wasn’t, after round 12, we were in the 8, but there’s 22 rounds and there is a long way to go, as Ratts said last week, and I think the media blow it up a bit, we were in the 8 there was a long way to go and if we were good enough we’d be there but its not something that was talked about, we know as a group there is a lot of hard work a head of us before we can start thinking and talking about that.

Fev gets the vast majority of delivery in the F50. Some say it makes us too predictable. Granted he's burning at the moment, but is there talk about finding other targets?

Yeah, I suppose he is such a presence down there and when he is on fire he tends to win most contests, but in saying that we know there are other targets and we need to use them.

You've had quite a few run and bounces, particularly over the weekend. Is it something you aim to do every time or only when you see a clear opportunity? What goes through your head when after a couple of bounces, the ball decides to run away from you?

Yeah, I think people like seeing the run and bounce, I enjoy the running aspect of our game and have been doing it for a while, if you can break the lines it can be a huge advantage to the team. On days like Sunday when it’s a bit greasy the ball can ran away from you a bit and I suppose the fans might get a bit nervous but you tend to get a feel of it and I like to think I know what I am doing!!!

You used to be called 'Slimmo' by some supporters, but you now have the strength and bulk to compete consistently at the highest level. What kind of fitness and strength program did you embark on?

I’m pretty massive now! Its something every player works on, this year with Justin Cordy and our weights coach Stuart Livingstone, they both are real professionals in their field of expertise.

What are the plans for the mid season break? Do you get time off from the club?

Yeah we get a bit of time off, we will do recovery on the Sunday and then I think we are off until Thursday, so it’s a nice break and a little time to get away if you feel like it.

You were acting captain for a few games last year. With Judd and Stevens, what kinds of leadership are you able to show on and off the field?

I really haven’t changed the way I approach it, its something I really enjoyed last year, I think it assisted my development as a player and I’ve continued doing the same things with the addition of a fair Captain and Vice Captain.

When the big clubs play we're starting to see a pattern of the underdog getting up, with our last 2 matches being good examples. Does being the favourite come into the players' minds much? Would you hope to start outsiders against Richmond?

No you don’t even think about it, I think the only time you think about it is if you’re having a run of outs and you are playing someone who has been flying, maybe then you might have a feeling that they might take you lightly, but that’s only on a rare occasion.

Who do you think you'll be playing on against the Tiges?

Yeah I’m not sure, there are a few guys there, but what I do know is that it will be a ripper game; it’s obviously going to be a big game for them celebrating their 100 years but it’s going to be just as big for us.

As we all look ahead to the Tiger’s match, there’s no doubt Simpson will be one of the on-field leaders out there and we all wish him well.  Go Slimmo!