Fremantle’s Josh Simpson will take an unspecified leave of absence from the club, effective immediately.



General manager of football operations Chris Bond said the leave of absence would allow the 20-year-old to undertake a personal development program.



Simpson’s program has been structured to address both personal and professional matters outside of football, and includes guidelines and protocols that he must strictly adhere to.



The personal development program will be overseen by the club and involve the AFL Players’ Association, Simpson’s management and external counsellors and experts.



Fremantle has not set a time frame for his leave of absence.



The club has twice this year sanctioned Simpson – including fining him an undisclosed sum each time - for not meeting club requirements.



Bond said that Simpson would not train with either Fremantle or Peel during his leave of absence and would not be available for selection at either AFL or WAFL level.



“Although Josh has been endeavouring to deal with some personal and professional matters, he has not been able to consistently demonstrate the behaviour required of a player at this club,” Bond said.



“We believe that it is in Josh’s best interests - both personal and professional – that his strong focus be on undertaking and successfully completing the program rather than meeting playing or training commitments during this time.



“Consequently, Josh will not train or play with the club during his leave of absence but instead focus on his personal development program and benefit from the structure, supervision and support it is designed to provide.”



Media are advised that the club will not be making any further comment on the matter.



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