JACK’S TOP 5 FINISH
Young Geelong star Jack Henry claimed a top five finish in the AFL’s Rising Star award.
AFL Rising Star winner Jaidyn Stephenson has only started repaying the faith that Collingwood showed in him.
His stunning debut season has earned the classy 19-yearold forward the Rising Star award.
Geelong’s Jack Henry finished equal fifth.
Stephenson has played every game and kicked 34 goals, becoming a key member of the recast Magpies attack.
It is a far cry from draft week last year, when Stephenson and his family started worrying whether he would be picked up.
Word had spread that Stephenson has a rare heart condition requiring daily medication and that gave some clubs second thoughts. But the Magpies recruited him with pick No.6 and it is proving an inspired selection.
“I’m not much of a crier or a teary person but I did tear up that night — it was just pure relief,” Stephenson said.
“On draft night I said I had to repay the faith to Collingwood. This is the first 2 per cent of me paying them back.”
Stephenson’s mother Raquel and sister Tegan have the same heart condition. They attended yesterday’s awards lunch in Melbourne, along with father Darren and aunt Bernadette.
There was a touching moment on stage as Stephenson remembered his grandfather Max, who would throw rolled up socks to him when he was a toddler to help his eye-hand co-ordination.
Even when Max was stricken by dementia, he still loved his footy. “I’d go into the hospital and he wouldn’t know my name, he wouldn’t know who I was, but I’d bring out a footy and he could still kick it to me,” Stephenson said.
He is the first Collingwood AFL player to win the Rising Star award — coach Nathan Buckley was at Brisbane when he took out the inaugural award in 1993. Stephenson was the favourite and eight of the 11 judges gave him the maximum five votes.
Stephenson polled 52 votes with 11 judges awarding him the maximum five votes. Adelaide defender Tom Doedee was 10 votes behind in second.
Stephenson completed a memorable double for the Magpies after Chloe Molloy claimed the AFLW Rising Star award.
Fearing he could be dropped after going goalless in his first three games, Stephenson then had a five-goal breakthrough game against Adelaide to ease his anxiety.
“He (Buckley) backed me in again due to my forward pressure and he said ‘the offensive stuff will come, we just love what you’re showing on the defensive end’,” Stephenson said.