Kade Simpson has hailed fellow leader Ed Curnow for his role in quelling Gold Coast star Gary Ablett in the Blues’ 10-point win at Metricon Stadium.
Curnow kept Ablett, who had averaged 36 disposals in his past five games leading into Saturday night’s clash, to just 25 touches and no goals, allowing the Blues to get on top in the clearances.
While Bryce Gibbs received the majority of the accolades for his masterful showing, Simpson said Curnow’s influence couldn’t be understated.
“Ed Curnow did a super job on Gary Ablett who is a superstar and has been for over a decade now,” Simpson told Triple M.
“Ed is one of the most competitive people you’ll ever meet. He’s like an Energizer Bunny around the Club and he just doesn’t stop.
“I think that’s the way Ed has to play. Against a guy like Gary (Ablett), if you’re not at him 100 percent of the time he’s just going to tear you apart.”
The Blues’ victory over the Suns was their fifth of the season, and Simpson couldn’t help but laud the efforts of his teammates, who are flourishing with Brendon Bolton at the helm.
“Bolton has put in an enormous amount of work in the 18 months he’s had the job, and the boys have really bought in,” he said.
“There’s a lot of work behind the scenes and it’s positive to see we’re getting some reward for it. It was great to get the four points.”
The Blues’ desire to be defined by pressure and effort was highlighted by Gibbs, who turned up the heat on the Suns to finish with a game-high 10 tackles and 24 pressure acts.
Bolton, who is reluctant to single out individual performances, couldn’t help but laud Gibbs’ “huge” influence on Saturday night.
And he wasn’t alone in praising the Blues’ No.4.
“Bryce Gibbs was unbelievable. Everywhere I looked, he just popped up,” Simpson said.
“To polish it off with the two goals in the last quarter, one to give us back the lead and one to seal it was a pretty incredible effort.”
The Blues will look to make it three straight wins for the first time this season when they take on traditional rival Richmond at the MCG on Sunday.
