List Mgmt. Orren Stephenson delisted by Geelong

[Jimmy Yamazaki]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...isted-by-geelong/story-e6frexx0-1226500972390

Not surprising. Thanks for your services this year Orren. Hope you find another club.

Sounds like West and Simpson are staying on.

Does that mean We only drop one more (Gillies) and we are good to go? Would also favor Brown staying on.

 

[footscore]

thrown into the deep end from day 1 but he tried and like you say Alkanphel, thanks for his services as he did help us win a few games this season and I hope he still plays on with another club or local footy.
Terrific talent, just started AFL at the wrong time of his career was all.

 

[Moggy]

Not surprising. Thanks for your services this year Orren. Hope you find another club.

Sounds like West and Simpson are staying on.

Yes, good luck to him. I hope he gets another AFL gig.

I think that means West and Simpson are certainties now, even with the chatter on West today. I simply couldn't see the club making this public if West was still up in the air.
The timing of this might partly be to quash the TW rumours.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Ive been a big rap for Chris Scott -and still am -but i reckon he treated Orren very shabbily

You go back to the Hawthorn game -West was out with a knee injury and Orren was number one ruck -and right from the 1st bounce he rucked superbly -he basically set up that 1st qtr onslaught-he made it look easy -he timed his jump nicely -and palmed the ball superbly -and the TV commentators were in raptures about his game. You contrast that to West -a very poor mans Corey McKIERNAN -West cant time his jump-hes coming down when he should be coming up . I just wish Scott had analysed that Hawthorn game a little more -the Team played sensational football -Orren had a fair bit to do with it -and another fact which got lost on Scott -was that Joel Corey didnt play in that game.

All i can say Orren -is thank God Gary Ayres didnt delist you -because they would be jumping out of trees on this football forum -to slag the coach off -if he had of delisted you.

 

[Selective Retention]

He played a sensational Q1 against Hawthorn to set up the big lead.

He got overrun by Hale after that.

 

[footscore]

good read Goggin, strong opinion and I think a few people found some of his coaching decision a little strange, especially when it came to the rucks as it seemed to only be West for the majority of the year when we had Orren fit and dominating in the magoo's.

Perhaps he had an injury which the club kept quiet?

 

[Cursed Cat]

Sad to see the Big O go; I thought he was serviceable when given opportunity, with occasional inspired moments like his first half against Hawthorn in round 19, or his game against the Bulldogs in round 9.

Also, he was inspirational in Geelong's VFL finals campaign and instrumental to the flag.

I'm not convinced he was inferior to any of the ruckman on the list to be honest; he was given very little opportunity to find his feet at AFL level.

 

[Linx]

Sad to see the Big O go; I thought he was serviceable when given opportunity, with occasional inspired moments like his first half against Hawthorn in round 19, or his game against the Bulldogs in round 9.

Also, he was inspirational in Geelong's VFL finals campaign and instrumental to the flag.

I'm not convinced he was inferior to any of the ruckman on the list to be honest; he was given very little opportunity to find his feet at AFL level.

Although I agree, you have to take into consideration the Big O is 30 while West, Vardy and Simpson are all 24 and below. With the addition of HMac (who will likely slot straight into the number one ruck), the footy club made the right call.

 

[Kayaz]

Sad to see the Big O go; I thought he was serviceable when given opportunity, with occasional inspired moments like his first half against Hawthorn in round 19, or his game against the Bulldogs in round 9.

Also, he was inspirational in Geelong's VFL finals campaign and instrumental to the flag.

I'm not convinced he was inferior to any of the ruckman on the list to be honest; he was given very little opportunity to find his feet at AFL level.

Was under the impression he was recruited purely for depth, and now that Vardy is back along with the inclusion of Mcintosh, we really dont need him anymore, and the list spot is important.

 

[Cursed Cat]

Although I agree, you have to take into consideration the Big O is 30 while West, Vardy and Simpson are all 24 and below. With the addition of HMac (who will likely slot straight into the number one ruck), the footy club made the right call.

Yep.

But it sucks for Stephenson.

He didn't get a chance to prove himself before the club went and recruited McIntosh, who is no sure bet as a #1 ruckman, durability-wise.
And, despite his age, I half-suspect that if O was given the same opportunities as West or Simpson he would do just as well, if not better.

 

[dazbroncos]

Did a great job in difficult position. Worked hard and probably has something left in the tank to give a club. Would be great to see him come back to the VFL side but given the list position might be hard. should get picked up as insurance im sure.

Glad he got to play senior footy and make a contribution in some big games. Hard with his family etc but footy is a brutal business at the best of times, and i'm sure his contract from last year didn't leave him short. I think for pick 79 we did well, as did Big O.

Thanks for the efforts and best of luck for the future.

Go Catters

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Ive been a big rap for Chris Scott -and still am -but i reckon he treated Orren very shabbily

Chris Scott gave him a chance to play AFL football years after Stephenson would have assumed it had passed him by. Stephenson himself acknowledges this in the article:

Stephenson holds no grudge towards the Cats, but believes he will be a better AFL player next year.

"I understood that they thought the best thing for the footy club is to go for a guy who is younger and played some really good AFL footy," he said.

"Twelve months ago if someone had said. 'You will play a season of AFL footy, win another VFL flag and improve your footy', I would never have believed them," he said.

"I've been very blessed, I've played Friday night footy on the 'G against Hawthorn and it was all very exciting times.

An AFL club simply can't have five senior-level ruckmen on its list, particularly three who would be considered 'specialist ruckmen'. If we kept Stephenson, we'd have to get rid of two other players from the list...if you can find those two, you're doing better than me. There was always a chance that Stephenson was going to be a one-year stopgap, hence his contract. He gave us good service, won another VFL premiership, may be a target for another AFL team in the same position we were in last year (I mean, if Angus Graham gets another crack...). And he can now say he was an AFL player...Geelong gave him that opportunity.

 

[Seeds]

Was a bit harsh done by at the selection table. Had a horrible first game against Freemantle but I thought was fairly good after that. Was really impressed with his game against West Coast rucking against both Cox and Natanui single handedly while carrying an injury. He should of been playing in the final.

 

[allrighty]

Interesting as I was thinking with the signing of HMac and Rivers the recruitment policy seemed to be changing from previous years. Now we delist Orren after limited opportunities.

I conclude/suspect there seems to be a harder edge to the personnel decision making and in the culture, perhaps a little less patience. I hope it is the right direction and not one that sees the beginning of the unravelling of our great culture.

Nevertheless Orren did as well as he was able and I know we all wish him plenty of success and will welcome him back around the Club.

 

[Rellik666]

Thanks for you help O', good luck in the future!

 

[JUBJUB]

Ive been a big rap for Chris Scott -and still am -but i reckon he treated Orren very shabbily

Big O was only signed for 1 year so he knew from the start he might only get 1 season at Geelong.He's not upset about the delisting as he knew where Geelong were going.

 

[winty]

Ive been a big rap for Chris Scott -and still am -but i reckon he treated Orren very shabbily

You go back to the Hawthorn game -West was out with a knee injury and Orren was number one ruck -and right from the 1st bounce he rucked superbly -he basically set up that 1st qtr onslaught-he made it look easy -he timed his jump nicely -and palmed the ball superbly -and the TV commentators were in raptures about his game. You contrast that to West -a very poor mans Corey McKIERNAN -West cant time his jump-hes coming down when he should be coming up . I just wish Scott had analysed that Hawthorn game a little more -the Team played sensational football -Orren had a fair bit to do with it -and another fact which got lost on Scott -was that Joel Corey didnt play in that game.

All i can say Orren -is thank God Gary Ayres didnt delist you -because they would be jumping out of trees on this football forum -to slag the coach off -if he had of delisted you.

Are you saying we should've kept Orren and let West go?

 

[Strangled Cat]

My mum was at her masseuse the other day who has done some work for the GFC. She told her than Orren was one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet. It makes it more sad that such a good bloke didn't get another opportunity, but that's Footy I guess. I'd like to thank him for his services and wish him all the best for the future.

 

[witsend]

Yep.

But it sucks for Stephenson.

He didn't get a chance to prove himself before the club went and recruited McIntosh, who is no sure bet as a #1 ruckman, durability-wise.
And, despite his age, I half-suspect that if O was given the same opportunities as West or Simpson he would do just as well, if not better.

He had 29 years to "prove himself". I thought he battled manfully but always was and will be remembered as a great VFL but MOR AFL player. Unlike Pods who grabbed his opportunity with both hands and held onto it. Tough gig, AFL.
But thanks for 100% effort Big O!

 

[bulletproof]

He seemed like a pretty level headed guy, I think he will be just grateful that he got the opportunity to play AFL. He also proved he was capable in that wonderful Hawthorn win. We may have erred not playing him in the final but this is definitely the right decision now Mcintosh is on board and Vardy and Simpson are healthy again.

Hope he stays on in the VFL, though you would think he'll return to Ballarat. Leaves with his head held high.

West needs to lift.

 

[Copernicus]

I'd say he won't hold any hard feelings, and in the end it was the right call from the club with HMac coming into the fold. He got a chance to show what he had, wasn't able to establish himself, but probably got a nice little savings tucked away and the experience of playing on the big stage - something I doubt he really expected at any point.

Good luck to him.

 

[TheHonestyPolicy]

I guess the irony is he is a better player now than when we drafted him and injury free would have most likely had a better season again next year. Half a dozen clubs could use his services next season.

The argument however made itself unfortunately in the end why we can't keep him.
I wish him all the best for the future.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

He had 29 years to "prove himself". I thought he battled manfully but always was and will be remembered as a great VFL but MOR AFL player. Unlike Pods who grabbed his opportunity with both hands and held onto it. Tough gig, AFL.
But thanks for 100% effort Big O!

Agree wholeheartedly; he did himself proud in 2012, but apparently he had many other opportunities to prove himself, by accepting rookie spots at other clubs in his earlier days. He made the decision that he couldn't afford to be on a rookie's salary at the time, so he stayed at North Ballarat and working his 9-5, which is fair enough. He's by no means a bad player and it's not out of the question that another team will pick him up to come in and fill the role he did for us last year as a 'break glass in case of emergency' ruckman. He wasn't really in the mix for a spot, once Vardy and Simpson got healthy and next year I'd be getting games into Simpson, ahead of Stephenson, without question.

 

[Pivo]

It doesn't come as a big surprise but I am a little bit disappointed we couldn't find a way to keep him on for another year (after all, there may still be some injury question marks over McIntosh, Simpson and Vardy).

Personally, I thought he was the best ruckman in the VFL Grand Final and did a tonne of work around the ground in that game on top of his ruckwork.

Took a while to adjust to AFL but handled himself pretty well in the back half of the season.

Hopefully he stays on with the VFL side and the club finds a position for him a'la Troy Selwood.

Many thanks for the year Big O!!

 

[Pure_Ownage]

It'd be quite ironic if he ended up at North as backup to Goldstein.

Anyway, not sure if he will find another club but hope he does. Thought he was great for us with limited opportunities but this was always likely to happen once we got Hamish on board. Hopefully Hamish and Dawson stay healthy, if they do we've got enough options and 5 ruckmen given our list squeeze was likely to be too many.