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For other people named Anthony Stevens, see Anthony Stevens (disambiguation).

Anthony Stevens
Personal information
Nickname(s) Stevo[1]
Date of birth (1971-07-02) 2 July 1971 (age 53)
Original team(s) Waaia
Draft No. 18, 1988 national draft
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 81 kg (179 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1989–2004 North Melbourne 292 (127)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2004.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Anthony Stevens (born 2 July 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Kangaroos. He was named as ruck rover in the club's official 'Team of the Century'.

Stevens was a member of North Melbourne premiership sides in 1996 and 1999. In 1998, he was an All-Australian; additionally, in the same year, he represented Victoria at State of Origin football. He was a Best and Fairest winner for his club twice, in 1997 and 1999.

Stevens lost two litres of blood and had two operations after injuries caused when falling glass hit Stevens outside the Redback Brewery Hotel in North Melbourne on 11 March 2000. Stevens suffered a 20-centimetre gash from the corner of his mouth along his right cheek and down the side of his mouth.[2]

In 2002, he was involved in a much-publicised controversy involving Wayne Carey after it was revealed that Carey had been having an extramarital affair with his wife Kelli Stevens.[3] The condemnation from Anthony Stevens and his teammates caused Carey to resign from the North Melbourne Football Club.

Stevens retired at the end of the 2004 season, but he and former Kangaroos teammate Glenn Archer got together to play one match for the Caulfield Grammarians Football Club.[4] After he retired from the AFL, Stevens accepted an ambassadorship with the VCFL. He played with Benalla in the Goulburn Valley Football League for a number of years.

Wayne Carey's affair with Stevens' wife

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In March 2002, Wayne Carey had an extramarital affair with Stevens' wife, Kelli. Making the situation even messier was the fact that Carey was himself married to his long-term partner Sally McMahon. Carey and Stevens were attending a party at teammate Glenn Archer's house. Carey is quoted as saying Kelli followed him into the toilets in front of a large crowd, including her husband.[5] An argument ensued between Carey and Stevens,[6] and both players subsequently failed to attend football training. In the face of his team being united against him, as well as nationwide condemnation, Carey resigned in disgrace from North Melbourne.[7] Carey's then manager Ricky Nixon famously stated that his client was on "suicide watch" during the aftermath.[8] To avoid media attention, Carey fled to Las Vegas, USA.[7] Stevens had played groomsman to Carey at his wedding to Sally.

North Melbourne champion and AFL Hall of Famer Brent Harvey said it set the club back "four or five years".[9] The aftermath of the affair resulted in Carey missing the 2002 AFL season and transferring to the Adelaide Crows for the 2003 AFL season. In a twist of fate, Stevens took over Carey's role of captain in 2002. The first game played between North Melbourne and Adelaide in 2003 made for gripping viewing, with Archer and Stevens both taunting and making aggressive moves towards Carey. Although tension was at fever pitch, all players involved managed to restrain themselves from doing anything rash. Adelaide went on to win convincingly by 54 points.[10][11]

In August 2022, 20 years after the initial fallout from the affair, Carey and Stevens met again at a function to celebrate the 26th anniversary of their 1996 premiership (which was initially supposed to be a 25th anniversary but was delayed by a year due to COVID-19); Carey engaged Stevens in a "verbal stoush" at the function, although the situation was reportedly de-escalated. The Herald Sun reported there was no potential of violence and that the pair “moved on and shared a beer together” afterwards.[12]

Despite both players' marriages being rocked by the public scandal, it took each marriage several years to dissolve. Kelli and Anthony Stevens divorced in 2008, six years after the affair,[13] while Carey's marriage ended in 2006.[14]

Carey labelled his affair with Stevens “the biggest regret of my life as an adult” while participating on season three of the reality TV show SAS Australia.[15]

Statistics

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[16]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1989 North Melbourne 58 4 0 3 41 20 61 8 11 0.0 0.8 10.3 5.0 15.3 2.0 2.8
1990 North Melbourne 46 13 4 6 149 51 200 30 31 0.3 0.5 11.5 3.9 15.4 2.3 2.4
1991 North Melbourne 10 12 2 2 135 58 193 19 11 0.2 0.2 11.3 4.8 16.1 1.6 0.9
1992 North Melbourne 10 13 11 10 149 71 220 26 39 0.8 0.8 11.5 5.5 16.9 2.0 3.0
1993 North Melbourne 10 21 9 11 330 118 448 36 66 0.4 0.5 15.7 5.6 21.3 1.7 3.1
1994 North Melbourne 10 24 8 11 341 191 532 64 57 0.3 0.5 14.2 8.0 22.2 2.7 2.4
1995 North Melbourne 10 20 14 8 304 137 441 65 49 0.7 0.4 15.2 6.9 22.1 3.3 2.5
1996 North Melbourne 10 24 19 15 385 156 541 86 59 0.8 0.6 16.0 6.5 22.5 3.6 2.5
1997 North Melbourne 10 25 10 7 453 129 582 94 66 0.4 0.3 18.1 5.2 23.3 3.8 2.6
1998 North Melbourne 10 25 8 6 442 101 543 90 74 0.3 0.2 17.7 4.0 21.7 3.6 3.0
1999 Kangaroos 10 25 12 7 429 117 546 98 72 0.5 0.3 17.2 4.7 21.8 3.9 2.9
2000 Kangaroos 10 12 4 4 145 63 208 50 32 0.3 0.3 12.1 5.3 17.3 4.2 2.7
2001 Kangaroos 10 15 1 5 238 104 342 68 71 0.1 0.3 15.9 6.9 22.8 4.5 4.7
2002 Kangaroos 10 19 10 6 276 99 375 85 65 0.5 0.3 14.5 5.2 19.7 4.5 3.4
2003 Kangaroos 10 20 10 8 275 155 430 92 63 0.5 0.4 13.8 7.8 21.5 4.6 3.2
2004 Kangaroos 10 20 5 3 262 109 371 86 52 0.3 0.2 13.1 5.5 18.6 4.3 2.6
Career 292 127 112 4354 1679 6033 997 818 0.4 0.4 14.9 5.8 20.7 3.4 2.8

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Wayne Carey: How the affair began". News.com.au. News Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  2. ^ Gregory, Peter (1 October 2003). "Stevens sues over injury".
  3. ^ McFarlane, Glenn (14 September 2015). "Anthony Stevens breaks silence over Wayne Carey's affair with ex-wife Kelli". Sunday Herald Sun.
  4. ^ Sheridan, Nick (1 June 2008). "Retired champions boost amateur ranks". The Age.
  5. ^ "Sydney Morning Herald: The Carey affair". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 December 2002. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Wayne Carey quits the Roos". AFANA. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  7. ^ a b Healey, Kelvin; Balogh, Stefanie (3 February 2008). "Wayne Carey was 'locked up' in the US". The Sunday Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  8. ^ "The people the players turn to". The Age. 30 April 2006. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007.
  9. ^ "Wayne Carey responds to fresh claims about Anthony Stevens". au.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  10. ^ Flashback: 2003 - North Melbourne v Adelaide, retrieved 20 August 2022
  11. ^ "AFL Tables - Kangaroos v Adelaide - Fri, 2-May-2003 7:40 PM - Match Stats". afltables.com. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Woman at centre of Carey's infamous AFL affair builds new life".
  13. ^ "Stevens' marriage over years after Carey affair".
  14. ^ "Wayne Carey confirms split with wife". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 February 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Woman at centre of Carey's infamous AFL affair builds new life".
  16. ^ Anthony Stevens' player profile at AFL Tables
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