Past #3 Dylan Stephens

Kennedy Parker · Feb 7, 2021

Dylan Stephens
The Sydney Swans used their first pick five since Jarrad McVeigh in 2002 to lock in a talented midfielder from South Australian club Norwood at the 2019 AFL Draft. Dylan Stephens is a prolific ball-winner and creative user of the footy by hand and foot. He played predominantly on a wing in the early matches of the 2019 AFL Under-18 Championships before starring on the inside in the final match, gathering 33 disposals in a best-on-ground performance. A penetrating left-footer, he averaged 23.8 disposals and 4.8 tackles across the 2019 AFL Under-18 Championships and was rewarded with All Australian honours. He also played some excellent football at senior level with Norwood, averaging 18.2 disposals and 4.6 tackles in 12 matches. Stephens enjoyed a breakout season for the Bloods in 2020 with a memorable AFL debut in Round 6 against Richmond alongside fellow debutant, Chad Warner. Stephens finished the campaign with eight appearances, averaging 12.5 disposals and 3.4 marks per game, while also kicking two goals.

Dylan Stephens
DOB: 08 January 2001
DEBUT: 2020
DRAFT: #5, 2019 National Draft
RECRUITED FROM: Red Cliffs (Vic)/Walkerville (SA)/St Peter's College (SA)/Norwood (SANFL)

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Punts · Oct 13, 2023

The King! said:
It's nice to no longer have to try and talk yourself into Dylan being any good

lol , least you tried

caesar88 · Oct 13, 2023

The King! said:
It's nice to no longer have to try and talk yourself into Dylan being any good

Nail on the head there Kingy.

Said it a few times myself, if you are good enough it just shouldn't be that hard to show it.

mtooler · Oct 15, 2023

I'm curious to see if Polec was a better performer at North than Stephens will be. It is quite possible.

mtooler · Oct 15, 2023

I was also curious what the North board think of him and his potential, "Andrew Gaff in his prime". That's enough internet for me for one day.

wills2g · Oct 15, 2023

If Stephens had as many chances as James Bell he might turn out to be a different player

BloodySwan · Oct 15, 2023

wills2g said:
If Stephens had as many chances as James Bell he might turn out to be a different player

Dylan had more than his fare share of chances to prove himself.

But on that note, in 4 seasons Stephens played 43 games. Bell played 28.

Stephens was given a lot of opportunities to prove himself and his best was still just alright.

wills2g · Oct 15, 2023

BloodySwan said:
Dylan had more than his fare share of chances to prove himself.

But on that note, in 4 seasons Stephens played 43 games. Bell played 28.

Stephens was given a lot of opportunities to prove himself and his best was still just alright.

When James played did being sub count as games?

BloodySwan · Oct 15, 2023

wills2g said:
When James played did being sub count as games?

Yes, coming on as a sub counts as a match played - so does being an unused sub

.Shotties. · Oct 15, 2023

mtooler said:
I was also curious what the North board think of him and his potential, "Andrew Gaff in his prime". That's enough internet for me for one day.

Yeah, I'm definitely not going to deathride the dude and wish him all the individual success in the world but hooooo boy.

caesar88 · Oct 16, 2023

mtooler said:
I was also curious what the North board think of him and his potential, "Andrew Gaff in his prime". That's enough internet for me for one day.

So wait... they think they're getting a wingman, and Stephens thinks he's gonna become an inside mid.

Someone's gonna be disappointed somewhere.

dosser · Nov 1, 2023

OK, so he didn't shoot the lights out with us, but there has been a fair bit of chat in other threads about how recruiters stuffed up. Sure, it wasn't great but the Swans are not Robinson Crusoe here. Many on BF were advocating that we take Paddy Dow from Carlton because he 'is underrated' and 'needs to be given time on the ground to flourish' - all valid comments, but strikingly similar to what Norf fans say about Stephens.

To put it in perspective, Dow was pick 3 (2017) who was traded to St Kilda for picks with a total value of about 49. Stephens was pick 5 and traded to Norf for a future 19. Both selections - for whatever reason - didn't work for their initial club so they move on. However, it just goes to show that we suffer from a myopic view of our own players when we say that we need to trade someone like Stephens but advocate that we chase Dow.

Go well, Dyl and have a long career - just don't perform against us.

caesar88 · Nov 4, 2023

Realised whilst watching this that it was the first time I'd actually seen a clip of Stephens' highlights for us and it's made by North Melbourne's media team. Goes to show how low his profile with us was. But he had some nice moments, wish him all the best.

Grand Uncle Horace · Nov 4, 2023

caesar88 said:
Realised whilst watching this that it was the first time I'd actually seen a clip of Stephens' highlights for us and it's made by North Melbourne's media team. Goes to show how low his profile with us was. But he had some nice moments, wish him all the best.

Strange, all the clips are of Dyl kicking goals.

caesar88 · Nov 4, 2023

Grand Uncle Horace said:
Strange, all the clips are of Dyl kicking goals.

To be fair there are probably only three Stephens moments that linger in the memory for me from his time with us and they're all goals.

1. His first goal against the Pies
2. His sealer against Freo
3. His goal in the qualifying final

rustycrate · Nov 4, 2023

mtooler said:
I'm curious to see if Polec was a better performer at North than Stephens will be. It is quite possible.

Polec is THE definition of downhill skier. If you look up what is the definition of downhill skier, it says "behaves like a polec". His name is now a word.

caesar88 · Nov 4, 2023

rustycrate said:
Polec is THE definition of downhill skier. If you look up what is the definition of downhill skier, it says "behaves like a polec". His name is now a word.

That's harsh! How would you feel if your name became a word? "Geez the hinge on that door is looking a little rusty"

CaptainChardonnay · Jan 10, 2024

The gap between his best & his worst was far too big and unfortunately, we saw his worst more often than we saw his best. Could do some amazing things with the football but lost all composure when the slightest bit of pressure was applied.

As I understand it, the recruiting team was split and Serong was the other player that was being considered when Stephens was drafted. With that in mind, you'd definitely say this was a bust but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

tombomb · Jan 10, 2024

CaptainChardonnay said:
The gap between his best & his worst was far too big and unfortunately, we saw his worst more often than we saw his best. Could do some amazing things with the football but lost all composure when the slightest bit of pressure was applied.

As I understand it, the recruiting team was split and Serong was the other player that was being considered when Stephens was drafted. With that in mind, you'd definitely say this was a bust but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I don't think that was the issue. His best wasn't even that good.

He just needs to play with a lot more intensity, otherwise he will have the same issues at North as he did with us.

Kiama Chris · Jan 10, 2024

tombomb said:
I don't think that was the issue. His best wasn't even that good.

He just needs to play with a lot more intensity, otherwise he will have the same issues at North as he did with us.

I'd go further than intensity. He has difficulty "seeing" the game, deciding what to do and pulling the trigger. In that moment, the opportunity is gone. Dean Towers a classic example. Some will call it confidence and maybe that's right but I think it's more spatial related and physical. When Greene kicked that goal in the final he was paralyzed - he literally didn't know what to do where others would just have jumped.

Jewelsbon · Jan 10, 2024

Kiama Chris said:
I'd go further than intensity. He has difficulty "seeing" the game, deciding what to do and pulling the trigger. In that moment, the opportunity is gone. Dean Towers a classic example. Some will call it confidence and maybe that's right but I think it's more spatial related and physical. When Greene kicked that goal in the final he was paralyzed - he literally didn't know what to do where others would just have jumped.

Nailed it.
The kid certainly has the ability for AFL but I don't believe he has all the necessary skills - if that makes sense.

Bonz · Jan 10, 2024

Jewelsbon said:
Nailed it.
The kid certainly has the ability for AFL but I don't believe he has all the necessary skills - if that makes sense.

I think he will get here, just a slow burn and we are going to miss out.

He had some sensational games (that final against Melbourne in particular).

rustycrate · Jan 10, 2024

Bonz said:
I think he will get here, just a slow burn and we are going to miss out.

He had some sensational games (that final against Melbourne in particular).

I don't think we will miss out. Dylan was just not good enough to push out an existing player. He did not nail down a spot on a consistent basis. That is going to happen again this year or next year. We have a lot of mids to fit in. We brought in Adams who will most probably take a spot. We brought in Jordon who probably won't take a spot but will be close. We have Sheldrick, Roberts and Corey Warner Mitchell, Cleary and Kirk. Sheldrick Roberts and Corey Warner have all played AFL. They will either get games or find themselves in the same situation as Stephens. Injuries, suspensions may reprieve players but we cannot fit them all in over the next few years. Parker is the oldest mid and even he has 2 more years on his contract. More mids will leave for better opportunities if they don't get a regular gig.

We have a very healthy list of mids both in ability and age wise. Most are relatively young and improving. Not all will get games they probably would have got at other clubs. Players not getting games may seek opportunities elsewhere.

It is a good situation for Sydney to lose players of the calibre of Stephens and still improve our side.

CaptainChardonnay · Jan 10, 2024

Jewelsbon said:
Nailed it.
The kid certainly has the ability for AFL but I don't believe he has all the necessary skills - if that makes sense.

Skilful, but heartless.

rustycrate · Jan 10, 2024

CaptainChardonnay said:
Skilful, but heartless.

I don't think he is skill less. I think he lacks the footy IQ in the moment. He is an athlete no doubt. Probably could toughen up but the physical aspect of his game is not the problem.
It's between the ears. Making right decisions. Moving to the best areas. knowing what to do when. Knowing where to run and not run. opposition player awareness. It's all of these things. If you don't know where you should be how can you do what is needed. To me he sometimes looks lost or trying to catch up to the game.
He also lacks a killer instinct.

He is not consistently impactful.

sataris · Jan 10, 2024

rustycrate said:
I don't think he is skill less. I think he lacks the footy IQ in the moment. He is an athlete no doubt. Probably could toughen up but the physical aspect of his game is not the problem.
It's between the ears. Making right decisions. Moving to the best areas. knowing what to do when. Knowing where to run and not run. opposition player awareness. It's all of these things. If you don't know where you should be how can you do what is needed. To me he sometimes looks lost or trying to catch up to the game.
He also lacks a killer instinct.

He is not consistently impactful.

The biggest difference between a professional and an amateur (not saying he wasn't professional), is the speed that they process information.

The absolute elite process information so much faster and come to the right conclusion.

Everyone comes to the right conclusion if you give them enough time.

I've seen this play out in every facet of life.

Sports
Investments
Work

A simple example is an elite chess player will look at a position and realize there's a forced checkmate in 8 moves in less than a few seconds.
A non elite chess player would eventually figure it out if they stared at it for hours.

I got the same feelings from Towers and Dylan.

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