Collingwood fans called out over awful act towards Jaidyn Stephenson amid AFL retirement call

Former Collingwood player Dale Thomas has pinpointed some of the horrible treatment Jaidyn Stephenson received from Magpies fans when he left the club amid the 25-year-old's shock decision to quit the AFL. News emerged on Monday that Stephenson is set to retire with one year remaining on his contract with North Melbourne, in another sad twist to the former Rising Star's career.

Stephenson is said to have lost his passion for the game, after a turbulent four seasons with the Kangaroos following his switch from Collingwood. Stephenson shot to stardom at the Pies and won the Rising Star award in 2018, but suffered an ugly fall from grace and has struggled at North.

He served a 10-game ban in 2019 for betting on matches he was involved in, and was traded to North at the end of the 2020 season amid Collingwood's attempt to clear salary cap space. After kicking 76 goals in 54 games for the Magpies, he endured a patchy run at his second club.

He broke his hip in 2021 after he fell off his mountain bike in his backyard, having attempted to perform a trick while drinking at home with housemates. He ultimately played 68 games for North, kicking 54 goals - including eight majors in 12 games this year.

Collingwood fans' horrible treatment of Jaidyn Stephenson

Throughout his time at North, he has constantly copped some pretty ordinary treatment from Collingwood supporters, who have been quick to celebrate his fall from grace. The news of his retirement also sparked some ugly responses on social media on Monday.

Discussing the situation on Tuesday morning, former Collingwood player Thomas lamented how the treatment would have taken a toll. Thomas, who played 157 games for the Pies, expressed his hope that Stephenson will be back playing AFL at some time in the future.

"The way he's been much-maligned by not only supporters of Collingwood, the media and supporters of North Melbourne at times," Thomas said on Triple M radio. "No doubt at some point he'll have a think about it and find that spark again. Because at 25, he's got plenty more good footy."

Sports presenter Nick Quinn wrote on social media on Monday: "Some of the comments around Jaidyn Stephenson retiring are extremely disappointing. I don’t know why people feel the need to say such really horrible things."

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Adam Cooney responds to Jaidyn Stephenson retirement news

Former Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney also lamented the "waste of talent" and highlighted Stephenson's off-field dramas. “It’s a waste of talent. 100 per cent waste of talent," Cooney said on SEN radio. "He played seven years. He kicked 38 goals in his first year and burst onto the scene and he was only slight of frame but had some speed and took the game on.

“I think the off-field issues that put the biggest dint in his confidence. He had that boozy bike crash accident. That would have affected him. He might be a victim of the expectation once a young player bursts onto the scene, the expectation rises from there and he just wasn’t able to meet that.

“You couple that with some off-field indiscretions and then you lose confidence and self-confidence can waiver and I think he’s probably a victim of that as well. Your love of the game can then diminish. It’s a tough one. Sometimes you think the grass is greener on the other side. He’s 25. Probably not at the level of maturity to be making really intelligent life-altering decisions and this one is going to be that.

“He might have found himself delisted in a year or two, but he’s throwing away half a million bucks to go and do something else. You just hope he’s making the right decisions for him and his family and he’s sorted out financially.

“But I would say it is a wasted talent. He’s had 38 disposals in a game. You’ve got to be a pretty handy player to do that. He kicked two goals in a grand final. He’s clearly fallen out of love with the game and lost passion for it and he probably didn’t work hard enough and coaches have been openly critical of him about that. Maybe he’s going to head out bush and get a bag to play footy out there and get that enjoyment back of the game he once loved.”