The 19-year-old is fast earning a reputation as one of the league’s best bright hopefuls after hitting the scoreboard on 18 occasions in just nine outings for the side in red and white this term.
His debut last year proved to be a sign of what was to come from the prolific marksman, as he announced himself on the big stage with three majors on a proud day for the Simpson clan.
During a true landmark game for the family, elder brother Steele Simpson also captained the side en route to victory against Tatura in the round four fixture.
In truth, the emergence of the youngster at senior level has been in the offing for some time, not least following his exploits at Under-18 level, where he kicked 56 goals in 18 games in 2024.
This season, Harper has taken his game up a notch again, with the Swans seniors having consolidated a spot in the top-six - sitting in fourth place in the ladder on 30 points after 12 games played.
June has arguably represented his best spell in the senior side to date, with the teenager having tallied up an astounding 13 strikes, alongside two behinds for Linc Sullivan’s charges across the month.
Simpson kicked five goals against Tatura in week nine, before following that up with a single major versus Echuca, four more against Euroa and a triple-header of goals against Kyabram to round out a bumper four weeks on the field.
Now, head coach Sullivan has reflected on the attacking prodigy’s exploits in recent times, as the talented forward continues to go from strength to strength under his tutelage.
“Harper is still a young fella learning his game, he’s clearly dynamic, fast and agile, athletic too,” he said.
“The past month has been good evidence that he is starting to become more consistent, and that’s what we look for in every player, not just Harper.
“For him, he has proven his maturity in the last month and that’s been evidenced through the games.
“We don’t demand that he goes out there and kicks five goals every week, but what we do want him to do is get to as many contests as he can, put that forward pressure on with his electric speed and tackling efforts.
“Tackling and defensive efforts are probably the number one thing for us, and he gets his reward when he gets on the end of a few goals.”
Earmarking his showing against Tatura at the start of June as the highlight of Simpson’s showstopping month, Sullivan was delighted with what he saw from his young disciple.
“They came out with a good game plan to try and nullify our style, which they did in the first half, but Harper popped up with five goals,” he said.
“Not only that, but his forward pressure is his number one attribute, he can read the game and uses his electric speed and willingness to hunt and tackle down.
“I think Tatura was a good stepping stone for him to realise, ‘as long as I am doing this, there’s a good reward at the end of it’.
“He’s starting to build real consistency, which is great for him and great for our team.”
Speaking of the collective effort that has gone into helping Simpson settle into life at senior level, Sullivan paid tribute to the youngster’s teammates, including Harper’s brother Steele for blazing a trail for his sibling.
“Obviously, Steele was injured from after round one of this year but he’s always around the club and I think he’s an influence on his brother, with the overall group having helped Harper along,” the coach added.
“Last year was a lot of the young players’ first year of senior footy and so this second year means they’re getting towards 30 games of senior footy - as a group they’re all growing.
“Harper is good evidence of an individual of someone who has really been starting to grow within the group.”
