Stephen Silvagni

Stephen Silvagni
Silvagni in September 2009
Personal information
Nickname(s) SOS
Date of birth (1967-05-31) 31 May 1967
Place of birth Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Original team(s) Marcellin College
Height 194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 95 kg (209 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1985–2001 Carlton 312 (202)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2001.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Stephen Silvagni (born 31 May 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Carlton in the Australian Football League (AFL).

As the second member of three generations of Silvagni's represent the Blues, he is regarded as one of the greatest ever full-backs to play the game and was named as full-back in the AFL Team of the Century and is an inductee in the Australian Football Hall of Fame.[1] Prior to 1985 he captained the undefeated Marcellin College 1st XVIII that won both the 1984 Associated Grammar Schools premiership,[2] and the coveted Herald Shield Cup then [3] played under lights at Waverley Park.

He is widely known by his nickname, "SOS" (pronounced "Soss"), standing for "Son of Serge", referring to his father, Sergio Silvagni, another great Carlton player.[4]

After retiring from football, Silvagni has worked as an assistant coach and list manager at several AFL clubs.[5][6]

VFL/AFL career

Playing career

Silvagni's defensive skills were renowned and earned him the status as a true clubman at Carlton. In 1996's AFL Team of the Century, Silvagni had the honour of being named at full-back. A title he was bestowed with after it was discovered that players not already in the AFL Hall of Fame were ineligible for selection at the time meaning that players of the quality of David Dench from North Melbourne and Geoff Southby from Carlton two of the games finest Fullbacks were excluded from the selection process even though they later gained entry into the AFL Hall of Fame.[7] He retained the title as the best full-back for four years in succession, although he was also known for his marking and goalkicking ability when playing at the opposite end of the ground in the full-forward position at times, even kicking a bag of 10 goals in Round 16, 1993 against the Fitzroy Lions.

Possibly his finest game was in the 1995 AFL Grand Final where he kept Geelong legend Gary Ablett goalless for the entire game.[8]

In addition to Silvagni's blanketing tactics, he was also a renowned high-flyer, taking out the Mark of the Year in 1988. However, when one such mark led to an ankle injury, the high-flying aspect of his game largely disappeared.

A year after his retirement at the end of the 2001 season he announced that he would make a comeback to assist Carlton, following their penalties for salary cap infringements. He however changed his mind soon after and was not a listed player for the 2003 season.[9]

Silvangi also played as goalkeeper for the Australian International Rules team on several occasions, and won the inaugural Jim Stynes Medal in 1998.

Silvagni watches over Sam Fisher at training prior to the 2009 AFL Grand Final

Silvagni was a five time All-Australian, being selected in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999.

Post-playing career

After retiring from playing, Silvagni worked as an assistant coach at four AFL clubs, Collingwood, Sydney, Western Bulldogs, and most recently St Kilda from 2007 until the end of 2010.[5] In 2011, Silvagni took on the role of list manager with the fledgling Greater Western Sydney Giants.[6] He returned to Carlton as list manager in 2015, and remains there as of 2017;[10] he was notably active in recruiting former GWS players to Carlton, with nine former GWS players shifting to Carlton in Silvagni's first three recruiting years.[11]

Personal life

Stephen Silvagni married Australian television celebrity Jo Bailey in 1996, and they have three sons.[12] Their eldest son Jack was drafted by the Carlton Football Club in 2015.He played his first match in round 15, 2016 vs Collingwood.[13]

Since retiring from playing football he has worked in the media as a guest football commentator.[5]

Carlton Football Club key defender Alex Silvagni is Stephen's second cousin. (Alex's father Eric and Stephen's father Sergio are first cousins.)[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hall of Fame listing
  2. ↑ http://www.agsvsport.com.au/files/36296/files/Archives/Premiership%20Archives%201981%20-%201990.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.aflvic.com.au/schools-2/competitions/herald-sun-shield/
  4. ↑ Full points footy biography
  5. 1 2 3 Silvagni pulls plug on Saints
  6. 1 2 Greater Western Sydney's list manager Stephen Silvagni ready for national draft
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Saints defenders as thick as thieves
  9. ↑ Silvagni decides not to play
  10. ↑ "Stephen Silvagni to return to Carlton as list manager following departure from GWS". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "There are 27 former GWS Giants players on other club lists for 2017". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC.
  12. ↑ Jo's on Tri run
  13. ↑ Gleeson, Michael (25 November 2015). "AFL draft 2015: Blues would have matched bid in the 20s for Jack Silvagni". The Age.
  14. ↑ Carlton news
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