Stephen Silvagni
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Personal Info | |
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Birth | May 31, 1967, |
Recruited from | Marcellin |
Height/Weight | 194cm / 95kg |
Playing Career¹ | |
Debut | Round 7, May 12, 1985, Carlton vs. Sydney Swans, at SCG |
Team(s) | Marcellin (pre 1985)
Carlton (1985-2001) 312 games, 202 goals |
¹ Statistics to end of 2005 season | |
Career Highlights | |
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Stephen "SOS" Silvagni (born May 31, 1967) is a former champion Australian rules football champion of Italian descent for the Carlton Football Club.
In a lengthy career beginning in 1985, he retired in 2001 as one of the greatest ever full-backs to play the game. He is widely known as "SOS", standing for "Son of Serge", referring to his father, another great Carlton Football Club player named Sergio Silvagni.
In 1996's Team of the Century, Silvagni had the honour of being named at full-back, and his defensive skills were renowned and earned him the status as a true clubman at Carlton. He retained the title as the best fullback for 4 years in succession, although he was also known for his marking and goalkicking ability when playing at the opposite end of the ground in the full-forward position at times, even kicking a bag of 10 goals in Round 16 1993 against Fitzroy Lions.
Possibly his finest game was in the 1995 Grand Final where he kept Geelong great Gary Ablett goaless for the entire game.
In addition to Silvagni's blanketing tactics, he was also a renowned high-flyer, taking out the Mark of the Year in 1988. However, when one such mark led to a shoulder injury, the high-flying aspect of his game largely disappeared.
He is married to Australian television celebrity Jo Bailey, and works in the media as a guest football commentator.