Collingwood star Jordan De Goey says he gave youngster Jaidyn Stephenson advice on how to handle the scrutiny around his AFL ban earlier this year.
Stephenson is expected to return to AFL football this weekend, having served a 10-week ban for gambling on matches involving Collingwood earlier this season.
De Goey received a club suspension for lying about his involvement in a bar fight in 2017, then another after he was caught drink-driving in 2018, and said he’d told Stephenson to push through the initial scrutiny before moving forward.
“It was probably just when it happened (when I gave him advice),” De Goey told AAP.
“The media tries to smash you flat out, especially for two days after it comes out.
“I just said to him ‘this will all pass, don’t worry about it’. Eventually it does and everything pretty much goes back to normal and that’s when you can start moving forward and start fixing your mistakes.
“Everyone’s young once and everyone (stuffs) up sometimes. No surprises there and I don’t think people should hold that against him because he’s a really good kid.”
Stephenson returned to football via the VFL and having booted 21 goals in 12 games prior to his suspension, is expected to slot back into the Magpies’ forward line.
Teammate Steele Sidebottom said Stephenson had “paid his price” for his mistake and was expected to repay the club with strong performances in the finals.
“I suppose, if you didn’t know ‘Stevo’, and you didn’t know it happened, you wouldn’t really notice,” Sidebottom told AAP.
“Yes, he’s copped his whack and we’ve moved on. There’s no point dwelling on it, because nothing can get get changed.
“So hopefully, he learns from his mistake and doesn’t make it again, and he can come out and I guess, you know, make a new talking point about how good he’s playing in the finals rather than what he’s done.”
Stephenson has earned rave reviews from both his teammates and coach Nathan Buckley for his attitude towards training during his suspension and Sidebottom said the Pies were looking forward to welcoming him back into the selection fold.
“I’m sure he’s chomping at the bit to get back out and playing – 10 weeks is a long lay-off,” Sidebottom said.
“But yeah, he’s he’s done a heap of training. And I’m sure his body’s, you know, really ready, having 10 weeks off.”
