Steven James Lawrence (born 19 May 1976) 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. He is the son of St Kilda star

Barry Lawrence Barry K. Lawrence (born 13 February 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for Longford in the Northern Tasmanian Football Association (NTFA). Barry played as a forwar ...

Brisbane career

Debuting with the

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Football Club, nicknamed the Bears, was a professional Australian rules football club based in Queensland on the Gold Coast (relocated to Brisbane in 1993). The club participated in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/A ...

in 1995, Lawrence was a solid half back flanker who enjoyed a solid career. He came back strongly after two

knee reconstruction Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL reconstruction) is a surgical tissue graft replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament, located in the knee, to restore its function after an injury. The torn ligament can either be removed from ...

s, where he missed the entire 1996 season (and much of 1997). But he returned midway through 1997 to display incredible toughness in defence. He was, however, criticised for being a bad influence on some players with his heavy drinking and partying lifestyle. He was criticised by

Jason Akermanis Jason Dean Akermanis (born 24 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist and triple premiership player who played for the Brisbane Bea ...

on '' The Footy Show'', who later said that it was "no coincidence" that after Lawrence left the club at the end of 2000, the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

won a premiership the next year.

St Kilda career

Lawrence was traded to St Kilda in the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

AFL Draft The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League (AFL). History ...

, and was part of some aggressive recruiting by the Saints in that season. He was sacked from the Saints in 2003 after a drink-driving incident.

VFL career

Lawrence moved to the

VFL The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

, playing with the

Williamstown Seagulls The Williamstown Football Club, nicknamed The Seagulls, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne. The club currently competes in the men's and women's Victorian Football League and VFLW competitions. History The Williamstown F ...

. He became their captain and also played in the Victorian VFL

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

clash. In 2006, he was signed by the

Port Melbourne Borough The Port Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Borough, is an Australian rules football club based in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne. The club was founded in 1874 and has been competing in the Victorian Football Association/Leag ...

as part of a major recruitment drive for the club.

References

External links

* * Brisbane Bears players Brisbane Lions players 1976 births Living people St Kilda Football Club players Williamstown Football Club players Southport Australian Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Queensland {{AFL-bio-1970s-stub