One of the stars of Round 1 was Jaidyn Stephenson who made an immediate impression in his North Melbourne debut.
Playing mostly through the midfield, Stephenson finished with a game-high 33 disposals, seven tackles, seven score involvements, five marks, five clearances and five inside 50s in the loss to Port Adelaide.
Collingwood gave up the former top 10 draft pick in the trade period and their loss is clearly North Melbourne’s gain.
Kane Cornes is excited to see what Stephenson can achieve finally playing through the midfield.
“I watched him yesterday and heard him speak through the year, never once did (Collingwood) give him a look in the midfield,” Cornes told SEN Breakfast.
“Not once did they go ‘this guy’s got speed and talent, let’s give him a run in the midfield’.
“He’s just got talent. I think eventually he can go (on-ball). He’s 22. He’s got a lot of upside.
“For North fans, he’s going to be there long enough to be there for the rebuild so I loved his game and if I was a Collingwood fan I’d be wondering why we let this bloke go.”
Stephenson and the Kangaroos take on Gold Coast on Saturday night, with his homecoming against the Magpies currently scheduled to take place in Round 8 at Marvel Stadium.
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