Orren Stephenson

Orren Stephenson (born 15 July 1982) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Orren Stephenson
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-07-15) 15 July 1982
Place of birth Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Original team(s) Mangoplah Cookardinia United Eastlakes (NSW) / Redan (Ballarat Football League)
Draft No. 78, 2011 National Draft, Geelong
Height 200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Weight 104 kg (229 lb)
Position(s) Ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2012 Geelong 08 (1)
2013–2014 Richmond 07 (0)
Total 15 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2014.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

He was originally drafted by the Geelong Football Club in the 2011 AFL Draft at the age of 29, the oldest first-time draftee in AFL draft history.[1]

Early life

Stephenson grew up in the southern New South Wales towns of Albury, Wagga Wagga and Griffith. He mainly played rugby league as a junior, before he met his wife Whitney. It was at the Mangoplah 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 in central Victoria where his wife Whitney's family lives. He started playing football for the Redan Football Club and after 2 premiership wins in 2002 and 2003 and then winning their best and fairest award in 2004, Stephenson joined the North Ballarat Football Club in 2005.[1]

VFL career

Stephenson has been a member of four VFL premiership teams:[2] three with North Ballarat in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and one with Geelong in 2012; he won the Norm Goss Medal as the best player on the ground in the 2009 Grand Final.[3] 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 in the 2011 AFL national draft, to replace the retiring Brad Ottens. He played his first AFL game against Fremantle in round one of 2012 due to injuries to Nathan Vardy and Dawson Simpson.[4] Stephenson was subsequently delisted by Geelong following the 2012 AFL Season. Stephenson was then drafted to the Richmond Tigers with pick no. 36 in the 2013 Rookie Draft. On 11 March 2014, Stephenson was elevated to the club's senior list.[5]

Stephenson was delisted at the conclusion of the 2014 AFL season.[6]

References
  1. Anderson, Jon (26 November 2011). "Geelong recruit Orren Stephenson takes hits to achieve dream". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  2. Phelan, Jen (17 May 2013). "One of a Kind". RFC. Richmond Football Club. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  3. "The North Ballarat Roosters win the 2009 VFL Premiership". abc.net.au.
  4. "Cat Orren Stephenson likely to face Fremantle in round one". Perth Now. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  5. "Richmond upgrade Orren Stephenson and Matt Thomas, Magpies upgrade Ben Hudson". Herald Sun. News Ltd. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  6. "Richmond list changes". Retrieved 9 September 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.