Nick's Collingwood Bulletin Board

You get the vibe that the only reason Stevo is up for trade are:

* he really mucked up in the hub
* they can somehow package up a deal to Nth that may secure the Pies pick 2 (hi L McDonald)

The gambling thing and probably more problematic than anything was his glandular fever.
Theres no reason why he couldnt come back stronger than ever with support from the club.
Hope he stays but the pick 2 scenario if it were to become a reality would be mighty tempting.

This guy kicked 38 goals in 26 games in his debut season of AFL, as an 18 year old, as a ‘small’ forward, his first season EVER of senior football, and duly won the award for best young player.

Only Collingwood could royally F this up to the point that he’s being offloaded just 3 seasons in.

Beggars belief.

Raw Hammer wrote:This guy kicked 38 goals in 26 games in his debut season of AFL, as an 18 year old, as a ‘small’ forward, his first season EVER of senior football, and duly won the award for best young player.

Only Collingwood could royally F this up to the point that he’s being offloaded just 3 seasons in.

Beggars belief.

Unless there is stuff we don't know about.

I'd trade him out - Pick 11 thanks.

inxs88 wrote:You get the vibe that the only reason Stevo is up for trade are:

* he really mucked up in the hub

Remember there were rumours, which Stephenson denied in a tweet before he deleted it.

Raw Hammer wrote:This guy kicked 38 goals in 26 games in his debut season of AFL, as an 18 year old, as a ‘small’ forward, his first season EVER of senior football, and duly won the award for best young player.

Only Collingwood could royally F this up to the point that he’s being offloaded just 3 seasons in.

Beggars belief.

Early career form isn't always a good indicator.

Jack Anthony kicked 25 goals in 12 games in Year 1, then 50 goals in Year 2.

His form fell off a cliff after that, especially after opposition teams started to give requisite attention.

^^ I remember Jack’s second year well. OMG we have a superstar! Premierships here we come! Then the attitude kicked in and like you said, opposition worked him out and that attitude stopped him from adapting to other roles and play. Bit like Stepho, he really didn’t like playing in the backline this year.

Playing him in the back line was just plain stupid. No other word for it.

simon tonna wrote:Playing him in the back line was just plain stupid. No other word for it.

As stupid as playing Howe and Moore in the backline?

Leon went back and absolutely thrived. Stepho wants to be a mid, well he has to learn defensive running.

simon tonna wrote:Playing him in the back line was just plain stupid. No other word for it.

Disagree. These days experience in various positions can only be a positive thing for a young player. Another string to his bow so to speak. What we need from him is some maturity, confidence, discipline, passion and a manic desire to be the best player he can be.

My issue with him and this message to him from a coaching point of view is that he was a victim of an experiment on the run to see if he can play back, forward and wing all in the space of a few weeks. All the players mentioned above had either a full preseason under their belts or a mature mindset and greater knowledge of the coaches intent.

We’re talking about a 20-21 year old KID who has never played senior football before entering the AFL, a player with tricks up the wazoo, and we’re ready to discard and put in the too hard basket.

Ridiculous.

Comparing the early output of Stephenson to the one-dimensional Jack Anthony is borderline insanity, too.

Lazza wrote:

simon tonna wrote:Playing him in the back line was just plain stupid. No other word for it.

Disagree. These days experience in various positions can only be a positive thing for a young player. Another string to his bow so to speak. What we need from him is some maturity, confidence, discipline, passion and a manic desire to be the best player he can be.

i agree to a point, but its hard to judge him with him suffering glandular fever, and then the year horribilus we had. the only certainty to me is he deserves at least another year to prove himself. he has genuine talent. thank god we didnt chuck swan out with his boo boos and naughties!!

From what I’ve hear the club are quite concerned with his offield behaviour and “distractions”. It’s a fork in the road moment for Stephenson just like Swan and Dusty faced in the early part of their careers.
Time will tell whether he goes the way that they did or not.