Orren Stephenson (born 15 July 1982) is an

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 who played for the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...

and the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

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 ...

(AFL). He was originally drafted by the

in the 2011 AFL Draft at the age of 29, the oldest first-time draftee in AFL draft history.

Early life

Stephenson grew up in the southern New South Wales towns of Albury, Wagga Wagga and

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...

. He mainly played rugby league as a junior, before he met his wife Whitney. It was at the

Mangoplah Mangoplah is a town approximately south of Wagga Wagga in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, Mangoplah had a population of 309. The name of the town is believed to mean "Kooris singing" in the Wiradjuri ab ...

Cookardinia United Eastlakes football club where Stephenson first got his taste of senior Australian rules football. In 2002 Stephenson moved his young family to

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

in central Victoria where his wife Whitney's family lives. He started playing football for the

Redan Football Club The Redan Football Netball Club (nicknamed the ''Lions'') is an Australian rules football and netball club located in the city of Ballarat, Victoria. The football team currently competes in the Ballarat Football League. Redan has a history of ...

and after 2 premiership wins in 2002 and 2003 and then winning their

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award in 2004, Stephenson joined the North Ballarat Football Club in 2005.

VFL career

Stephenson has been a member of four VFL premiership teams: three with North Ballarat in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and one with Geelong in 2012; he won the

Norm Goss Medal The Norm Goss Memorial Medal is awarded to the player judged to be the best afield in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier r ...

as the best player on the ground in the 2009 Grand Final. He was named in four VFL teams of the year and represented the VFL twice in interstate matches.

AFL career

Stephenson was selected by

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

in the 2011 AFL national draft, to replace the retiring

Brad Ottens Brad Ottens (born 25 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). AFL career Richmond: 1998–2004 Selected ...

. He played his first AFL game against

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

in round one of 2012 due to injuries to

Nathan Vardy Nathan Vardy (born 25 June 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Geelong Football Club from 2010 to 2016. AFL care ...

and Dawson Simpson. Stephenson was subsequently delisted by Geelong following the 2012 AFL Season. Stephenson was then drafted to the

Richmond Tigers The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

with pick no. 36 in the 2013 Rookie Draft. On 11 March 2014, Stephenson was elevated to the club's senior list. Stephenson was delisted at the conclusion of the

2014 AFL season The 2014 AFL season was the 118th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured ei ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Orren Living people 1982 births Redan Football Club players North Ballarat Football Club players Geelong Football Club players Richmond Football Club players Australian rules footballers from New South Wales