Australian Football

Harvey Stevens was a useful player for Collingwood, mainly as a ruckman/forward, in 54 VFL games between 1948 and 1952, during which he kicked 56 goals. His last game for the Magpies was the losing Grand Final of 1952 against Geelong, when he played in the unaccustomed position of full forward and failed to kick a goal. During the ensuing summer he was released by the club, allegedly for being 'overweight'; however, Stevens had been recovering from a rib injury at the time, and had been unable to train.

Stevens moved on to Footscray and was soon producing the best football of his career, as evidenced by his winning his new club's best and fairest award in his debut season. First ruckman in the Bulldogs' inaugural VFL premiership team in 1954 (Grand Final reviewed here), he captained the club for part of the 1957 season, which proved to be his last in top level football. A powerful mark and a canny competitor in the ruck, he played a total of 72 senior games for Footscray, kicking 71 goals. In 1949 he had played for the VFL against New South Wales in Sydney.

Author - John Devaney