THREE greats of the Carlton Football Club gathered to share stories starring another Carlton legend. 

Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Chris Judd spoke about Kade Simpson: the man who they all described as a perfectionist on and off the field. 

Upon announcing his retirement earlier this week, the three men reminisced about their favourite memories of ‘Simmo’.

Murphy, who has played 275 of his 284 games with Simpson, noted two special performances that will live on in his memory. 

“He dashed through the middle of the MCG against Essendon, took three or four bounces to put us a point in front and it was a big ‘Simmo’ moment and he was pretty excited about kicking that goal,” Murphy said. 

“His 250th was pretty special in the way in which we played and you saw the emotion on his face after the game.

“I think everyone was nearly having a tear out there: I don’t know what was going on, it was like we won the flag. Nut that just shows you how much the boys love playing with him and how much he means to the group as well.” 

Gibbs also noted Simpson’s 250th game as a very special game for him, as well as all of Simpson’s milestone games while Gibbs wore the Navy Blue. 

Simpson’s 250th was particularly notable for Gibbs, who was at the bottom of a pack with the milestone man as the siren rung in a come-from-behind win.

“I’ve got a lot of fond memories in all of his milestone games,” Gibbs said. 

“Certainly the boys do find another leg for him and I certainly know some of my best games for Carlton were playing in those milestone games for him. 

“I still look at that footage [from his 250th] from time-to-time when the siren went and we all jumped on him and the look on his face, I just love watching that back.”  

Two-time Brownlow medalist Chris Judd noticed Simpson’s courageous acts every time that they played together. 

He said the main thing he would remember about his former locker room neighbour was his ability to stand up when his team needed him most.

“I reckon from the time I was at the Club, just so often when the game was close it was ‘Simmo’ who was committing to some incredibly courageous act or just doing something that almost seemed impossible and just consistently getting it done time and time again,” Judd said. 

“There’s an Adelaide game in 2011 where I just remember the last 90 seconds, I reckon Simmo was involved in three contests, each contest was seemingly match-turning and we ended up just winning the game. 

“That game stands out to me because he almost single handedly won the game off his own boot.”