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White Ferns LIVE from 7pmStephenson's honest admission of "crappy" North Melbourne tenure
Jaiden Sciberras • February 25th, 2026 3:56 pm
After shockingly missing out on an AFL revival, Jaidyn Stephenson has expressed his continued desire to return to the top level, eyeing off the mid-season draft as an avenue for a senior return.
Taken with the sixth overall pick in 2017, Stephenson took to the AFL by storm, winning the Rising Star award and kicking two goals in Collingwood’s heart-breaking Grand Final loss in his first senior season in 2018.
However, things weren’t always smooth sailing for the young gun, slapped with a 10-game ban for gambling in 2019 and soon traded to North Melbourne in 2020 after a difficult run of form.
Joining the Kangaroos, Stephenson returned to the right path, enjoying a career-best statistical season in 2021 with averages of over 19 disposals and a goal.
Unfortunately, the former Pie couldn’t maintain the level, and despite being under contract at the Kangaroos, Stephenson announced his shock retirement at just 25 years of age.
While his ability at the level was never in question, Stephenson – in an honest admission - revealed that he had lost faith in himself and his ability as a result of the club’s poor form.
“I went to North Melbourne for a bit there and had a pretty crappy time in terms of success,” Stephenson told SEN SA Breakfast.
“I think we won eight games in my four years there – that can be hard to swallow. You start to doubt your own ability, and I think I lost belief in my own ability, which I never thought I’d be saying.
“To go back and just play football again for the fun of it with your mates, I realised how much I did enjoy the sport. I thought that I’m still very capable of playing at the top level, so while I’m young and while I can, don’t waste the opportunity.”
After rediscovering his love for the game, Port Adelaide invited the 27-year-old to trial for an SSP spot, with the club holding trials for two open list spots ahead of 2026.
Navigating a successful pre-season with the Power, Stephenson was considered a lock to earn his way back onto an AFL list.
With positive words from players, coaches and onlookers in and around Port Adelaide, Stephenson did more than enough to deserve one of the club’s open list spots.
However, the club went in a different direction.
“The communication was as good as it could be,” he said.
“You obviously couldn’t give too much away and all four of us (trialling for SSP) were there, trying to show what we’ve got. I thought everything was really good, they handled it really well and they gave us ample opportunity to show what we had, which is all you can ask for.”
Port Adelaide delivered the bad news off the back of the club’s first hit out of the pre-season, with Stephenson kicking two goals with Port’s reserves on Saturday afternoon.
“I only found out on the Saturday morning, so I played the game to the best of my ability, tried to put my best foot forward; I had no idea,” he said.
“I was pretty proud of my efforts in the internal (intra-club match), in that game and in the whole four months, to be honest. I can walk away with my head held high and know that I wasn’t the right fit for them.”
As expected, Stephenson wasn’t thrilled with the club’s call, however, can understand the thought process behind the difficult decision.
“I was obviously shocked and disappointed; they are two emotions that come with being rejected when you’ve put a lot into something,” he said.
“It’s a dream that you’re chasing, so I was extremely disappointed. I always like to look at the positive side – you’ve got to understand things from other people’s perspective as well. I’m old enough and mature enough to realise that too.”
“In my chat with Josh, he said that we’ve got players that are similar to you. Obviously, Jack Lukosius is going well, Mitch Georgiades is one of the best players in the league, and a few that are a similar mould to me.
“At the end of the day, with where their list is at, they were going to go with youth. A 27-year-old, I understand that too – I would have been one of the oldest SSP’s. I can understand the reasons; like I said to a few people, Mitch Zadow and Balyn O’Brien, could not have got along with them any better.
“I couldn’t be prouder of them – they are two kids that haven’t had the opportunity in the AFL before. To watch them get their spot and be such great people and such talented footballers, I honestly couldn’t be happier, genuinely.”
Despite being dealt the ultimate blow, Stephenson isn’t ready to give up just yet, with the mid-season draft well within his sights.
“I’m heading back to Victoria – initially I didn’t know what I was going to do, it was a little bit up in the air,” he revealed.
“I’ve had some time to think, and I think I’m going to go through the VFL program. There’s a mid-season draft where teams will have spots open – If I can go back and show my wares in the VFL, my dream to play AFL again is still alive.
“I’m going to keep working hard at that for the next three to six months, however long that may be.”
