Jason Stevens

Uncompromising forward has developed into one of the new breed of ball-playing props. A St George junior, Stevens was in the Dragons' starting line-up in the 1993 grand final but his thumb was badly dislocated in the first tackle of the match. He was in superlative form early in the 1994 season and it was no coincidence that St George's downward slide corresponded with Stevens' time on the sidelines with injury. He sat out the early part of the 1996 season in anticipation of the start of the Super League competition but reluctantly returned to St George when the News Ltd had to appeal the court’s original decision. Injury again sidelined him during the Dragons’ unheralded charge to the grand final but in a novel contract, Stevens combined with his brother Paul to sign a joint deal with Cronulla. After playing for the Sharks in the Tesltra Cup grand final, Stevens made four Test appearances for Australia at the end of 1997’s Super League season. Injury restricted him to just 7 matches in 1998 but he returned to his best form in the early part of the 1999 season before receiving an eight-match suspension for a reckless high tackle in a club game against Newcastle. Stevens made his State of Origin and Australian Test debuts that year (he was called into October’s Tri-series competition when Shane Webcke was ruled out) and has since become a mainstay of the Australian Test team. In 2000 Stevens played against NZ and Papua New Guinea before going to England for the World Cup. Coming off the interchange bench in the 40-14 win over NZ, he played in all three matches of the 2001 State of Origin series and was one of the first forwards chosen for the one-off Test against NZ in July. While the Sharks were denied a grand final spot by eventual premiers Newcastle at the end of 2001, Stevens’ form never wavered. Chosen to tour with the Kangaroos, he was chosen as prop in the warm-up Test against Papua New Guinea before being cited and controversially suspended for ‘reckless striking’ in the First Test of the shorted Ashes Series in England. Stevens served his one match suspension while Australia claimed the Second Test before forcing his way back into the starting line-up for the vital, Ashes-winning victory at Huddersfield. Stevens made one more rep appearance before his retirement in 2005 – one match for NSW in 2004 but his actual game time reduced his part in the match to a mere cameo. A born-again Christian with definite views on life, love and celibacy, Stevens’ self-published book, Worth the Wait: True Love and Why the Sex is Better hit bookshops in early 2002.