Collingwood premiership hero Steele Sidebottom and wife Alisha share major announcement
The Collingwood veteran and his wife Alisha are set to welcome their second child "any minute now".
Collingwood premiership winner Steele Sidebottom and his wife Alisha have announced they are set to welcome their second child into the world "any minute now". The 33-year-old AFL veteran is preparing to take some time off from pre-season for the birth of baby No.2, who has already caused his wife some difficulties.
"She’s due February 6 but think she’s going to go early because the baby is measuring big so it could be any minute," Sidebottom told 7News on Friday. "She was leaving work last Friday and she rolled her ankle a bit and fell forward and landed on her knee and fractured her patella. Then at 3am she tried to go to the toilet and fell over again but she’s alright ... we're excited."
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Sidebottom and Alisha - who got married in 2022 - are excited to give three-year-old Matilda a sibling. The midfielder, however, says he will miss going to training after the birth of the couple's second child as he craves routine. "It is good to be back (at training)," he said. "I need some routine in my life and a bit of structure."
Despite already being a two-time premiership winner, Sidebottom says he is as hungry as ever for another flag. "If I wasn’t (hungry), I wouldn’t be going to training today, tomorrow and the next day," he said.
"I like going to training and I feel like I’m 25 again. The body is feeling good. I’ll be playing footy for as long as I can." Sidebottom debuted in 2009 and has played more than 300 games for the club.
Collingwood spy on rival Carlton's pre-season hitout
Carlton opened their doors to fans on Friday for a pre-season hit out and Pies assistant coach Justin Leppitsch was seen in the stands as a keen onlooker. He joined more than 3000 Blues faithful who sat in the stands at Ikon Park to watch the team go through their paces.
Carlton ended their ten year finals drought in 2023 and will be looking to build on last year's success in the season ahead. On Friday big man Tom De Koning was deployed in the ruck despite telling reporters it isn't necessarily where he will start the season.
“I don’t want to pigeonhole myself into any one position,” he said. “I’m really open to playing both ruck and forward. For me at the moment, it’s a really good opportunity to develop both sides of my game.
“I’ve been working up forward a lot with Charlie (Curnow), Harry (McKay) and ‘SOS’ (Jack Silvagni), and I’ve also been able to continue working on my ruck craft. I’m really trying to build both parts of my game.”
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