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West Coast coach Adam Simpson admits he is “disappointed” in rookie Isiah Winder after the youngster’s alleged physical altercation at a party in Geelong last weekend.
Handed a lifeline by the Eagles just days prior, Winder has now been banished from the club’s senior squad as a result of his alleged actions while attending the AFL/AFLPA’s four-day Indigenous and Multicultural Players’ Summit.
The matter is now being investigated by Victoria Police.
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Opening up on the police investigation into Winder for the first time on Wednesday, Simpson conceded the 20-year-old had “made a mistake”.
“It’s really disappointing, I haven’t really seen him since the draft,” he said.
“He was at the indigenous camp and it happened over there so I haven’t seen him since. Disappointed.
“Still need to look after his health and wellbeing though. Make sure he’s OK in that sense but there’s still a bit of work to do.
“But where he sits with the club and the playing group at the moment is he’s still part of our playing group – he just won’t be training with the senior squad at the moment.
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“He’s still got use of the facilities and videos and all those sort of things. We are sort of heading in this direction while we transition our list and bring some youth in and some excitement and he’s got a little bit of work to do to get that back.”
According to 7NEWS reporter Ryan Daniels, Winder was allegedly involved in a “physical altercation at a party while under the influence of alcohol”.
Winder was only handed his second chance at the Eagles during last week’s Draft period, after being delisted back in October.
Simpson said he was torn after Winder had “worked hard” to get the opportunity to be redrafted as a rookie.
“These things when they become so public as well – he’s a 20-year-old young man so we’ve got to look after both sides of the situation,” he said.
“We’re an AFL club and we’ve got standards, but we’ve got to look after the person.
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“There’s only next week left and well get through Christmas and we’ll see where we’re at after that and see how he’s gone.
“He’s a rookie list player, he’s 20 years old and he’s made a mistake.
“He made his way back onto the list with his work ethic and his dedication to getting fit and he’s made a mistake.
“I know it’s a big deal at the moment and it is for him but we’ve just got to try to respect the young man that he is.”
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