No rush on list changes
Simpson says the list changes can wait until the end of September
The Eagles finished ninth for the first time in their history after Richmond denied West Coast a remarkable finals berth with a stirring victory over the Sydney Swans on Saturday night.
Simpson told 6PR on Monday night there were no ‘Mad Monday’ celebrations the day after the Eagles' round 23 win over Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
Instead, the coaches and players began post-season interviews with Simpson. No decisions will be made in haste as the Eagles' WAFL affiliate club East Perth is about to embark on a finals campaign after securing the minor premiership.
"It's probably between five and seven (changes) I would've thought would be around the mark in terms of what our list may provide and what we need," Simpson told 6PR.
"While our players are available at WAFL level, and we really want to have some success at East Perth, we'll let the season play out there and I think our list lodgement is not required until the end of the season. So we'll take our time."
The Eagles have 17 players eligible to play for East Perth after playing the minimum five games required to qualify. Most will be made available with the exception of Jeremy McGovern and Scott Lycett.
McGovern may require minor surgery during the off-season. Mark LeCras is also set to have the plate removed from his forearm.
Jack Darling has been carrying a foot problem in recent weeks. The injury won't require surgery but it will need to be managed. The coach said none of the players requiring surgery would miss the start of the pre-season.
Simpson was adamant the Eagles did not deserve to play finals.
"To be honest, we just weren't good enough," Simpson said.
"There's no real excuse other than the fact we've got to get better. But there's light at the end of the tunnel. We can see some things developing which is positive.
"The second half of the year was really positive, really exciting about what we can potentially see in the future with a young group."