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Why Carr has given Stephenson a train-on opportunity
Nicholas Quinlan • November 6th, 2025 8:52 pm
Port Adelaide coach Josh Carr has given some reasoning as to why Jaidyn Stephenson will be given an opportunity to train with his side during the summer.
Having been announced as the successor to Ken Hinkley earlier in the year, the 2004 Premiership player has officially taken the reins as he gears up for his first season in charge.
And looking ahead to his first pre-season, he has decided to give the former Collingwood and North Melbourne man an opportunity to train with the Power with the potential that he could be added to their list as SSP selection for the 2026 season.
While Stephenson announced his retirement from AFL football in 2024 after playing 122 games for the two clubs, which saw a return of 130 goals, it appears that the desire to play at the top level has returned after 12 months away.
Having been asked on SEN SA’s The Run Home as to why Stephenson will be joining their pre-season, Carr believes that it would be silly not to consider him, given the form he has shown at an AFL level.
“From my point of view, we haven’t guaranteed Jaidyn any position on our list,” Carr said.
“He’s obviously got to get through the draft, but post-draft, we have guaranteed that he can come and train with us over the summer.
“I think we would be silly not to look at it. He’s a talented young player; he kicked something like 40 goals in his first year at Collingwood.
“He’s had his struggles but we’ve got some people at the footy club that know him really well and he’s matured and from my point of view we make a judgement at the end of pre-season just as we will for any other player that trains on in the pre-season and we’ll pick the best player that’s going to help us as a football club.”
Despite stepping away from AFL football in 2025, Stephenson has remained fit, having played for his junior side in the Ferntree Gully Eagles, who play in Division 3 of the EFNL.
In the 18 games that he played, he kicked 38 goals.
Port Adelaide will likely confirm their full complement of train-on players following the AFL Draft.
