Jaidyn Stephenson (born 15 January 1999) is a professional
Australian rules footballer playing for the
North Melbourne Football Club in the
Australian Football League (AFL), having been initially drafted to the
Collingwood Football Club.
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 in the opening round 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 Buc ...
. Stephenson would go on to win the 2018
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 Buc ...
after a successful first season in which he kicked 38 goals, marking Collingwood's first win in that award category. That same season 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 Austral ...
kicking two goals in the first quarter, however
Collingwood Football Club would ultimately lose by 5 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 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football L ...
.
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 feature ...
, 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, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...
on the final day of trade period.
Stephenson who was moved to the midfield in his first season with
North Melbourne
North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...
in the
2021 AFL season was named to the
22under22 for the second and final time.
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 a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
had been overblown by the media, and questioning vaccinations.
In August 2021, Stephenson again came under fire by the media after being hospitalized 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, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia.
Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...
.
Stephenson attended
St Joseph’s College,
Ferntree Gully.
Statistics
:''Statistics are correct to finals week 3 2021''
, - style="background-color: #eaeaea"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
,
, 35 , , 26 , , 38 , , 24 , , 205 , , 115 , , 320 , , 101 , , 75 , , 1.5 , , 0.9 , , 7.9 , , 4.4 , , 12.3 , , 3.9 , , 2.9
, -
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
,
, 1 , , 14 , , 24 , , 13 , , 158 , , 61 , , 219 , , 93 , , 29 , , 1.7 , , 0.9 , , 11.3 , , 4.4 , , 15.6 , , 6.6 , , 2.1
, - style="background-color: #eaeaea"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
,
, 1 , , 14 , , 14 , , 10 , , 85 , , 47 , , 132 , , 47 , , 25 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 6.1 , , 3.4 , , 9.4 , , 3.4 , , 1.8
, -
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
,
, 2 , , 19 , , 17 , , 19 , , 249 , , 119 , , 368 , , 109 , , 48 , , 0.9 , , 1.0 , , 13.1 , , 6.2, , 19.4 , , 5.7 , , 2.6
, - class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3, Career
! 62
! 86
! 56
! 553
! 272
! 825
! 284
! 150
! 1.3
! 0.9
! 8.9
! 4.3
! 13.3
! 4.5
! 2.4
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Jaidyn
1999 births
Living people
Collingwood Football Club players
Eastern Ranges players
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)
AFL Rising Star winners
North Melbourne Football Club players