In the first of a series, afc.com.au profiles past players, who reached 100 games with the Club

IN THE space of 12 months, Mark Stevens went from a North Melbourne fringe player to a Crows premiership hero after winning a grand final against his old club ...

Stevens, from Heyfield in country Victoria, played just 21 games in three years with the Kangaroos before he was traded to Adelaide at the end of 1997 in a direct swap for Jason McCartney. A 194cm key position player who had plenty of competition for these roles at North Melbourne, he quickly became an important tall option for Adelaide. He played in defence in the 1998 premiership win but later in his career also spent time as a quality forward.

He finished fourth in the best-and-fairest in 1999 - when he won the Top Team Man award - but had a horrendous run with injuries the next season, straining a medial ligament in a knee and then breaking a leg.

Stevens returned to the AFL in style, however, finishing runner-up to Andrew McLeod in the 2001 club champion award (he polled votes in every game he played), and he was equal third in 2002. But injury troubles returned and he played only a handful of games in his last two full seasons. He struggled through the first two games of the 2005 season, reaching his 100th Club game milestone in the opening round, but retired from the AFL and SANFL a few weeks later.

Mark then returned home to play with Heyfield, where he won a premiership playing alongside brother Andrew.

Mark Stevens at the Crows
Guernsey number: 19
Crows debut: Round 1 v Carlton, 1998
AFC games: 101. AFC goals: 103.
Recruited from: North Melbourne
Trade from Kangaroos for Jason McCartney, end of 1997
DOB: October 25, 1975

He said: “To finish behind Andrew McLeod in a best-and-fairest will be something I can tell my grandkids one day.”

Random info:
• He was backpacking across Europe late in 1997 when told the move to Adelaide had been given the green light
• He had the nickname “Sloth” in his early years with the Crows - but later asked to be called “Turbo”.
• He kicked a career-high 38 goals in 2002
He never played in a losing game against Geelong
• He played some reserves games for Carlton as a teenager

Crows career: