#35,#1 Jaidyn Stephenson

[Jezza]

This is embarrassing. How can a player seem so oblivious of the rules around betting?

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/the ... 51zcz.html

[Dave The Man]

So Doing Illegal Drugs or Punching Someone in the Head is Better then what Stepho Did?

[Jezza]

So Doing Illegal Drugs or Punching Someone in the Head is Better then what Stepho Did?

You're comparing apples and oranges.

[swoop42]

I find this all very depressing.

I can't believe that Stephenson would act in such a reckless and selfish manner when he was well aware his actions were against a golden rule an AFL player must adhere to.

Make no mistake this has the potential to derail our top 4 hopes and with that our Premiership chances as we are simply easier to beat without Jaidyn.

His absence will not only rob us of his individual ability out on field it will have a flow on affect that will allow the opposition to apply greater focus on the likes of a de Goey or Hoskin-Elliott inside our f50 and limit the amount of time we can afford to use them or another forward option in other roles.

Right now I'd argue we will be losing 2 to 3 goals on the scoreboard each game unless the likes of Cox, Varcoe and Thomas can step up and fill the void.

Of course how Stephenson copes mentally will be a concern across the next 10 weeks and supporting him will be a priority for the club but I'm still worried about the player who returns.

Stephenson has been able to ride a wave of goodwill from the wider football community since his debut thanks to his eye catching exploits on field and amiable personality off it but it's fair to say the protective bubble that generally accompanies young AFL players has been burst, he's lost his innocence now and will have to cope with far greater scrutiny from officialdom, the media and more hostile opposition fans who will look to exploit the situation.

I just pray that the Jaidyn we see return is still the Jaidyn who until now has attacked a game of football in a manner that appears bereft of self doubt, one with the confidence to launch a torpedo from 60 and a player filled with the expectation he has the ability to turn the improbable into the possible every time he has the ball.

[K]

So Doing Illegal Drugs or Punching Someone in the Head is Better then what Stepho Did?

You're comparing apples and oranges.

But we have to compare apples and oranges. That's part of fair sentencing.

[K]

Imagine if he hadn't told Howie and it continued all season before he was caught... we'd have been talking seasons of bans not weeks. He was going to get caught no matter what, just a matter of time. At least he will be back for finals, and fresh.
...

He won't be "fresh"; he'll be lacking match conditioning, just as Heater was in 2011.

[eddiesmith]

So Doing Illegal Drugs or Punching Someone in the Head is Better then what Stepho Did?

You do performance enhancing drugs and you don’t get less than Stephenson did, illicit drugs are an image issue, not a performance issue. Match fixing is as bad as it gets. He’s probably lucky he gets to play at all this year, not sure he will but the fact he will be available to is very lucky for him.

[mudlark]

Surely everyone on here doesn’t believe he could have gotten away with it and not said anything. The AFL had his phone’s IP address and the device he used to place the bet was on Stevo’s phone.

They knew what he’d done and offered Stevo the chance to self confess. As Nick Dal Santo said today, there is more too it than the AFL is letting us know.

What's that got to do with anything?? He confessed to what he'd done and they obviously wanted to look at his phone after the fact ,but knowing jhisIP dress simply means he may have placed a bet that day on a horse??They cannot get access to someones phone account details unless they are the LAW who got a warrant.He gave them the info they wanted and they still killed him.they're just scum.

[eddiesmith]

Actually pretty sure the leagues do get access to their betting accounts as part of the legislation around gambling in sports.

[What'sinaname]

So Doing Illegal Drugs or Punching Someone in the Head is Better then what Stepho Did?

You're comparing apples and oranges.

No, they should be compared. Why should the AFL be allowed to overreact on one indiscretion but go all warm and fuzzy on another.

[David]

[Kill for Collingwood]

What are the "Jan Beams allegations" mentioned in this topic?

[Piesnchess]

So Doing Illegal Drugs or Punching Someone in the Head is Better then what Stepho Did?

You're comparing apples and oranges.

Tell that to that kid who got a busted jaw, and spat teeth out after thug Gaff smashed him, 8 wks, tell that to John Greening, nearly bloody died, I was there back then, nearly killed by thug Odea, Greening was never mentally right again, career ruined, life nearly ended, Odea got 10 weeks same as Steveo. Bloody disgrace, its an AFL stich up to take heat off that dickhead McLaughan and his total cockup of the security fiasco with the fans, a total stitchup. 100%, Stevo should have got 5 weeks plus heavy fine, but this penalty is just insane, madness, an meanwhile the League promotes gambling heavily, and makes millions out of it, blatant hypocrisy.

[K]

...
Tell that to that kid who got a busted jaw, and spat teeth out after thug Gaff smashed him, 8 wks, ...

And WC players don't take that seriously. To them it's just a joke punchline. If the AFL had given him 22 weeks, maybe they wouldn't joke about it at training, as they did on Monday.

[Dave The Man]

So should we get rid of Stephenson Then after this?