Stephen Nichols (born 18 June 1963) 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 who played for

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 Victorian Football League (VFL) and Woodville in the South Australian Football League (SANFL) during the 1980s. Originally from Tasmanian Football League club Sandy Bay, Nichols was recruited by Geelong and made his senior VFL debut in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

. Nichols was unable to cement a position in Geelong's senior side and played mainly in Geelong's reserves side, including their 1982 reserves premiership, where he played centre half forward. Nichols was released by Geelong at the end of the

1983 VFL season The 1983 VFL season was the 87th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 26 March until 24 September, and comprised a ...

and recruited by Woodville after being recommended to the club by fellow Tasmanian footballer

Darryl Sutton Darryl Lewis Sutton (27 July 1952 – 28 January 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club, Richmond Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football Le ...

. Playing at full-forward, Nichols won the

Ken Farmer Medal The Ken Farmer Medal is named in honour of the Australian rules footballer, North Adelaide Football Club full forward Ken Farmer. The medal is awarded to the South Australian Football League The South Australian National Football League, or ...

for the completion's leading goal-kicker twice, with 103 goals in both

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. He kicked 108 goals in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

but trailed North Adelaide's John Roberts in the Ken Farmer Medal, who kicked 111. Nichols represented Tasmania at the

1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival The 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival was the 22nd edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football State of Origin competition. Australia was celebrating its Bicentenary in 1988, so the carnival was known as th ...

, kicking six goals against the Northern Territory.

References

* *Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Stephen 1963 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Geelong Football Club players Woodville Football Club players Sandy Bay Football Club players Tasmanian State of Origin players