Eagles coach not going anywhere: Kennedy

West Coast coach Adam Simpson has been linked to the vacant position at North Melbourne, but Eagles players are convinced he will stay at the club.

AFL

Eagles coach Adam Simpson (pic) won't be staking out the Kangaroos job, Josh Kennedy says. (AAP)

West Coast spearhead Josh Kennedy has no doubt coach Adam Simpson is a man in demand - but he's not worried that North Melbourne will poach him.

The Kangaroos are on the lookout for a new coach after parting ways with Brad Scott.

AFL great Matthew Lloyd threw up Simpson as a man the Kangaroos should be chasing, along with Sydney's John Longmire and Hawthorn's Alastair Clarkson.

Simpson, who led West Coast to last year's premiership and has a 65 per cent winning record as coach, is contracted to the Eagles until the end of 2022.

But given his strong history with North Melbourne - he played 306 games there and captained the club - his name was always going to be linked to the vacant Kangaroos position.

Kennedy doesn't think Simpson will depart the Eagles, and isn't worried that the rumour mill could become a distraction in West Coast's premiership defence.

"He just built a massive house in City Beach, so I don't think he'll be going any time soon - he needs to pay it off," Kennedy said with a laugh on Monday.

"Simmo's a fantastic bloke, fantastic coach, so I have no doubt other clubs would love to have him.

"We're lucky enough that we do have him locked down for a few years.

"It (North Melbourne targeting him) is just hearsay. Simmo's a pretty honest bloke with us. It wouldn't affect him and it wouldn't affect us, so it's all good."

West Coast improved their record to 7-3 after coming from 33 points down to beat Adelaide by 12 points on Saturday.

Kennedy said the group always had belief they could claw their way back into the game.

"It's probably just the calmness I think," Kennedy said.

"Probably these last few years guys have been in those situations and we are pretty calm and collected in terms of what we need to execute to build back to I suppose gain momentum or get a few goals on the board.

"It's great as a group to know we can do that."

The Eagles will be aiming to notch their fifth straight win when they host the Bulldogs at Optus Stadium on Sunday.


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Source: AAP


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