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Full name
Peter Steward
Known as
Peter Steward
Born
27 January 1942 (age 82)
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 20y 86d
Last game: 28y 214d
Height and weight
Height: 191 cm
Weight: 83 kg
Senior clubs
North Melbourne; West Perth
Jumper numbers
North Melbourne: 15
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Melbourne | V/AFL | 1962-1964, 1966-1970 | 126 | 10 | 0.08 | 31% | 14.11 | 1.99 | 5.58 | 54 |
West Perth | WANFL | 1971-1975 | 88 | 12 | 0.14 | — | — | — | — | — |
Total | 1962-1964, 1966-1975 | 214 | 22 | 0.10 | — | — | — | — | — |
Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only
AFL: 7,348th player to appear, 1,770th most games played, 5,014th most goals kickedNorth Melbourne: 541st player to appear, 89th most games played, 357th most goals kicked
Recruited from Kerang as a forward, North Melbourne's Peter Steward went on to spend the majority of his 126-game VFL career between 1962 and 1970 in one or other of the key defensive positions. Pacy, strong and consistent, he overcame the setback of a serious knee injury which saw manage just one game in 1964-5 to become arguably the league's pre-eminent defender. He represented the VFL on half a dozen occasions, including games at the 1969 Adelaide carnival when he secured All Australian selection.
Steward captained North for a large part of the 1970 season when regular skipper John Dugdale was out injured, but at the end of the year he shocked club officials by asking for a clearance to West Perth. A tense wrangle ensued, but in the end Steward got his way, and he went on to spend the last five seasons of his league career with the Cardinals, playing in two premiership teams, and representing Western Australia five times. He also captain-coached the club in 1972.
In 2003 Peter Steward was selected on the interchange bench in the Kangaroos' official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'.
Author - John Devaney