Nick Stevens

Nick Stevens (born 3 January 1980) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League and former coach of South Australian National Football League club Glenelg. He played in four pre-season premierships, with Port Adelaide in 2001 and 2002, and with Carlton in 2005 and 2007. He is the only man to have won more than one Michael Tuck Medals, winning the awards in 2002 for Port Adelaide and in 2007 for Carlton. Stevens played a total of 104 games for Carlton and 127 for Port Adelaide.

Port Adelaide

Originally from St Marys in the VMFL, Stevens was recruited in the 1997 AFL Draft to the Port Adelaide Football Club using pick 25. He was an under 16 All-Australian who was well suited to half back and ruck rovering. As he matured he became a very prominent outside midfielder. In 1998, he was runners-up to Byron Pickett for the NAB rising star award. He also won awarded the inaugural AFLPA Best First Year Player award. He managed to play every game in 1999 coming off half forward and the wing, he finished fourth in the clubs best and fairest. In 2000 he continued to develop into a matchwinner and finished 2nd in the clubs best and fairest after he missed five games due to suspensions. Stevens played a total of 127 games for Port Adelaide including back to back pre-season premierships in 2001 and 2002.

Carlton

At the end of the 2003 season, Stevens expressed a desire to return to his native Melbourne and wished to be traded to Collingwood. Port Adelaide was unable to obtain what it considered appropriate trade consideration and as a result, Stevens quit the club and entered the pre-season draft. He was subsequently drafted by Carlton with the second selection in that draft.

Stevens was named vice-captain of the club in 2007, a position he held until his retirement. After Round 3, on advice from specialists, Stevens had surgery to heal a prolapsed disc in his neck, ending his season; he had sustained a neck injury in a front-on collision with Melbourne's David Neitz in late 2006, but had continued to play and train. The injury was a major blow to Carlton, as Stevens had been in fantastic form through the pre-season and early rounds. On 23 August 2007, it was announced that Stevens had signed with the Blues until the end of 2010.

By his standards, Stevens had a poor season in 2009, struggling to make a strong impact in many games, and attracting criticism for deficiencies in his defensive game. At midseason, Stevens was dropped to the VFL for a few games. At the conclusion of the season, it was revealed that Stevens had sustained another, more serious, recurrence of his neck injury from 2007, most likely caused by a collision with captain Chris Judd in Round 22; facing the risk of permanent spinal damage if he played on, Stevens officially announced his retirement on October 29, 2009, with one year remaining on his contract.

Stevens played a total of 104 games for Carlton and 127 for Port Adelaide.^[1]

Post football career

Following his retirement from AFL, Stevens focussed on expanding his business, NJS Signature Landscapes, in Melbourne. Additionally, he took on the senior coaching role of the NSW/ACT Rams for the AFL Under-18 Championships for 2010 and 2011; he had served as an assistant midfield coach for the team since 2006 while still playing for Carlton.^[2]

In August 2011, Stevens made a return to the field, playing games for Montmorency in the Northern Football League,^[3] where he is still playing games in 2012.^[4] In November 2011, Stevens was appointed as senior coach at the Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup for the 2012 season.^[2]

At the end of the 2013 season, Stevens joined South Australian National Football League club Glenelg as coach.^[5] Prior to Stevens' appointment the Tigers won just once in their last 15 games, finishing bottom in 2013.

Conviction

Stevens only served one season of his coaching contract and was sacked in January 2015, after he was found guilty of assault and threats to bash his ex-partner.^[6] In March 2015, Stevens was sentenced to eight months jail but is currently out on bail pending an appeal.^[7][8]

Brother

Nick's brother Danny Stevens played 15 games for North Melbourne between 1996 and 1999.

References

External links

• Nick Stevens's profile on the official website of the Carlton Football Club
• Nick Stevens's statistics from AFL Tables
• Nick Stevens Profile in Blueseum

Australian squad – 2001 International Rules Series Captain: Voss Black Bowden Bradley Caracella Chick Francou Gaspar Goodes Goodwin Hardwick Harvey Hay Johnson King M. Lappin N. Lappin Lloyd Maxfield McLeod Nicks Ottens Ramanauskas Smith Stevens Tredrea White Coach: Lyon