George Stevens’ knocks on the door have become too much for Geelong coach Chris Scott to ignore, with the second-year midfielder to make his AFL debut in tomorrow’s clash with Richmond at GMHBA Stadium.
The 20-year-old was selected as an emergency on Thursday night, but with small forward Tyson Stengle interstate due to what Scott labelled a “family issue”, he has been called into the team to take on the struggling Tigers.
And in further good news for the South Warrnambool product, he will be part of the starting 22.
“As those who follow our VFL side closely would know, he’s just been ultra consistent this year,” Scott said.
“Not just on-field in the VFL games, but the way he’s gone about it in our system.
“It just gives us great confidence that he’s going to come in and play to the same level that he’s been displaying at VFL level.
“After a bye, it’s a good news story, we think, coming into this game.”
Drafted from Talent League club GWV Rebels with pick 58 in the 2023 National Draft, Stevens averaged 21 disposals and four clearances in 19 VFL games last year.
In 11 games in 2025, Stevens is averaging 26 disposals, seven clearances and six tackles.
“He’s a big body midfielder, very high-quality stoppage player, but he’s an elite kick,” Scott said.
“It might be his biggest weapon, actually. We want the ball in his hands, and he’s going to hurt the opposition with his kicking.
“I would describe his improvement as being across the board. He didn’t come in with any fundamental weaknesses.
“I think there might have been a bit of a perception he’d had some injuries throughout his junior career, that maybe he wasn’t the best runner as a midfielder.
“But that hasn’t been our observation. He’s improved a bit, but he was already pretty good.”
Mitch Knevitt has been added to Geelong’s emergency list.
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