Jaidyn Stephenson (born 15 January 1999) is a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos or colloquially the Roos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AF ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL), having been initially drafted to the

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

AFL career

He was drafted by Collingwood with their first selection and sixth overall in the 2017 national draft. He made his debut in the 34-point loss to at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

in round 1 of the 2018 season. His performance in the 48-point win against in round four of the 2018 season—in which he recorded thirteen disposals, five goals, four marks and three tackles—earned him the round nomination for the

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Bu ...

. Stephenson went on to win the 2018

after a successful first season in which he kicked 38 goals, making him the first Collingwood player to win the award. Stephenson played in the

2018 AFL Grand Final The 2018 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the West Coast Eagles and the Collingwood Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2018. It was the 123rd annual grand final of the Australian ...

kicking two goals in the first quarter, however

would ultimately lose by five points to the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

. At the end of the

2020 AFL season The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featur ...

, he was put up for trade by Collingwood to alleviate their salary cap, and was traded to

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

on the final day of trade period. Stephenson who was moved to the midfield in his first season with

in the

2021 AFL season The 2021 AFL season was the 125th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...

was named to the

22under22 The 22 Under 22 team (stylised as 22under22) is an honorary representative Australian rules football team created by the AFL Players' Association that seeks to recognise the best young talent in the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Wome ...

for the second and final time. After the

2024 AFL season The 2024 AFL season was the 128th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 18 clubs and ran from 7 March to 28 September, comprising ...

, Stephenson retired at just 25 years of age, stating that he'd lost the passion to play.

Controversies

In 2019, Stephenson was suspended for the final 10 games of the home and away season, following revelations that he placed bets on Collingwood games. There was also a $20,000 fine imposed. In July 2021, Stephenson had a career high 38 disposals in a Round 17 win against the West Coast Eagles. Days later, he faced strong criticism for sharing his views that

Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

had been overblown by the media, and questioning vaccinations. In August 2021, Stephenson again came under fire by the media after being hospitalised from an accident on a mountain bike while drunk, which resulted in him fracturing his hip.

Personal life

As of May 2021, Stephenson was studying for a Bachelor of Commerce at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

. Stephenson attended St Joseph's College in

Ferntree Gully Ferntree Gully is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, 30 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area. Ferntree Gully recorded a p ...

. Stephenson grew up in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of

and played junior football fo
Ferntree Gully Eagles
in the Eastern Football League.

Statistics

:''Statistics are correct to end of the 2024 season'' , - ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

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2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Jaidyn 1999 births Living people Collingwood Football Club players Eastern Ranges players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) AFL Rising Star winners North Melbourne Football Club players Sportspeople involved in betting scandals 21st-century Australian sportsmen