Before Jack Steven was a three-time Trevor Barker Award winner and one of the best midfielders in the land, he made his debut against Hawthorn on a nondescript day down in Launceston at the tail end of the 2009 season.
In a season where the Saints made it all the way to the last Saturday in September, Steven’s one and only appearance for the year resulted in a four-goal win over Hawthorn, with the speedster finishing with 14 disposals and four tackles.
With Richmond and Carlton opening the 2017 campaign on Thursday night and a new wave of faces set to get off the mark this weekend, Steven reflected on his first game on Melbourne radio station SEN on Thursday morning.
“I was pretty much just freaking out, but pretty excited as well,” Steven said ahead of St Kilda’s Round 1 clash with Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
“Mine was down in Launceston so it was probably a good (place to) start for me because it was a little bit quieter and had that country feel to it; I was pretty relaxed by the time the game came around.”
Renowned for his relaxed approach to life away from football, Steven bought a farm in Lorne a couple of years ago where his parents now live and where he escapes from the big city life from time to time.
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“It’s a bit of a stretch to call it a farm, I think the traditional farmers would have a laugh at it. Mum and Dad live there and they take care of it and they do an awesome job. It’s pretty beautiful down there, I love it,” he said.
“It’s not a massive one, there’s a fair bit of bush on it, so not heaps of cleared land but I’m pretty excited to get down there when I can. We’ve got a few sheep and a few chicken, and just enjoying the fresh air down there."
And while plenty of footballers across the competition will have spent some time in the barber’s seat this week, Steven is operating with a haircut that will turn a few heads this weekend.
“I think it’s looking good but I think my girlfriend would disagree,” he said. “I’m getting some mixed feedback at the moment but I’m going to keep rolling with it and see what happens.”
