Nick Stevens (born 3 January 1980) is a former

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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

and former coach of

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as t ...

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 Medal The Michael Tuck Medal was awarded to the best-and-fairest player in the AFL Pre-season Cup Final. The award was presented annually between 1992 and 2013; since 2014, the award has not been presented due to the preseason being structured without a ...

, 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 Mary's 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-roving. As he matured, he became a very prominent outside

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. In 1998, he was runner-up to

Byron Pickett Byron Pickett (born 11 August 1977) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played with three clubs in the AFL. He was known as a big game player as well as for his strength, hard bumps and tough approach to the game. Picket ...

for the NAB rising star award. He also won awarded the inaugural

AFL Players Association The AFL Players Association (AFL PA, also simply known as AFL Players) is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) players. The AFL PA promotes and protects its membe ...

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 club's best and fairest. In 2000, he continued to develop into a match-winner and finished second in the club's best and fairest after he missed five games due to suspension. 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 Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

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 Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

David Neitz David Neitz (born 22 January 1975), is a retired Australian rules footballer. The strongly built centre half back who became a full forward was the longest-serving captain in the history of the Melbourne Football Club and the first Melbourne ...

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. During the midpoint of the 2007 season, 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 Christopher Dylan Judd (born 8 September 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer and captain of both the West Coast Eagles and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Widely regarded as one of the bes ...

in Round 22. Facing the risk of permanent spinal damage if he played on, Stevens officially announced his retirement on 29 October 2009, with one year remaining on his contract. Stevens played a total of 104 games for Carlton and 127 for Port Adelaide.

Post-football career

Following his retirement from AFL, Stevens focused on expanding his business, NJS Signature Landscapes, in Melbourne. Additionally, he took on the senior coaching role of the

NSW/ACT Rams The NSW/ACT Rams is an under 18 Australian rules football representative club in the TAC Cup. The team, under the guidance of AFL NSW/ACT represented New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and had the moniker of the Ram, partly der ...

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. In August 2011, Stevens made a return to the field, playing games for Montmorency in the

Northern Football League The Northern League is a men's football league in north east England. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the English Football League. It contains two divisions; Division ...

, where he is still playing games in 2012. In November 2011, Stevens was appointed as senior coach at the

Gippsland Power The Gippsland Power is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. Honours *Premierships (1): 2005 *Runners-up (3): 1999, 2010, 2012 *Wooden Spoons (1): 2003 *Morrish Med ...

in the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Vict ...

for the 2012 season. At the end of the 2013 season, Stevens joined

club Glenelg as coach. 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. In March 2015, Stevens was sentenced to eight months jail but appealed. He was again found guilty in July 2016, sentenced to six months jail (with three months suspended), and fined $3,000.

Brother

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

References

External links

Nick Stevens at the Carlton Football Club website
*
Nick Stevens profile in Blueseum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Nick 1980 births Living people Carlton Football Club players Port Adelaide Football Club players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Northern Knights players Glenelg Football Club coaches Australia international rules football team players