Family joy spurs St Kilda’s Nicola Stevens towards unprecedented milestone

One pair with a name for a baby boy. One for a baby girl.

Stevens and her fiancee Elise are expecting their first child in the next month – and playing for their little one has become the new “why” for one of the competition’s toughest players.

For more than a decade, Stevens played for her mum Ann during her 13-year battle with younger onset dementia.

Ann passed away in January 2023, but Stevens continues to play with the white ribbon in her hair that used to help her mum spot her on the field.

The inaugural AFLW player, who was Collingwood’s first best and fairest winner and an All-Australian before finding her way to St Kilda via Carlton, said the two seasons at Moorabbin after her mum’s death had been the hardest of her career.

“I guess for so long I had been able to get out onto the field and express myself, and almost separate what has been going on for me off the field, and I struggled a little bit in the 18 months after my mum passed to find that new purpose,” Stevens said.

“On the weekend I had a piece of tape around my wrist, and we don’t know what we’re having, but I wrote the initials of our baby with our boy name and girl name.

“I just feel like that helped motivate me and provide a new sense of purpose on the field, which has allowed me to play with such a sense of freedom as well.

“Having a baby on the way, I just want to be able to show them how strong and powerful their mum can be, and not just me, but women in general, so I feel like that’s given me a new outlook.”

The new outlook has already served Stevens well, with her performance in defence arguably her best game in Saints colours as they claimed a 22-point upset victory over Adelaide.

Stevens, 32, held All-Australian forward Danielle Ponter goalless with just three disposals as the St Kilda backline stood tall against an onslaught of 50 Crows forward entries to just 28.

Despite what she has had to endure off the field, Stevens is one of only five players who have played every possible game since the AFLW’s inception.

She sits in esteemed company alongside Ally Anderson, Libby Birch, Jasmine Garner and Ebony Marinoff.

While Stevens accepts the streak may soon come to an end with the arrival of her baby, she is intent on being among the first players to reach the 100-game milestone, which she could hit next season.

“81 games doesn’t really sound like that many, but given we didn’t play that many games in the first few seasons, it does feel like a pretty significant achievement,” she said.

“I’d like to keep playing for as long as I can, and what the next month looks like, I’m not quite sure, but I have every ambition to be out on the park for as many games as I can.

“That 100-game milestone is a personal goal for me … to be able to celebrate running out onto the ground with our little son or daughter would mean the world to me and my family.”

Stevens is a qualified osteopath who works as a clinical specialist assisting surgeons and hospital staff during limb replacement surgeries.

She continues to work twice per week alongside her increasing AFLW commitments.

“It’s a packed week at the moment, but I love being busy, and I’ll just keep chugging along and hopefully our baby arrives in the next month or so,” Stevens said.

“My fiancee Elise is pretty deep into her third trimester now, so she’ll cross her legs and wait until her mum arrives from the UK next week, and hopefully we’ll get a nice surprise soon after that.”

The first AFLW player to be traded when she left Collingwood for Carlton (the Blues had to stump up their first three picks in the 2017 draft to get it done), Stevens was in the crowd for last Thursday’s season opener to watch her former clubs do battle.

“I got the same feeling and goosebumps that I did playing in those games,” she said.

“(The former Pies and Blues) all sat together … the AFL gave us a scarf of the team we represented in the first game, so I had a Pies scarf on, but obviously played the four seasons at Carlton after the first year at the Pies.

“It was really fun, we had a few photos with everyone and shared the love.”

After revealing themselves as a finals contender, St Kilda faces another stern test against Melbourne at Casey Fields on Saturday.

FORMER TOP PICK SET FOR SAINTS DEBUT

Inaugural AFLW no. 1 draft pick Nicola Barr has been cleared to play her first game for St Kilda in a tantalising clash against Melbourne on Saturday.

Barr, 29, who crossed to the Saints from GWS as part of a three-club trade in December, missed the upset win over Adelaide due to foot soreness after playing in the Saints’ practice matches.

It was a frustrating setback for the midfielder after a hamstring injury kept her to just three appearances for the Giants in 2024.

But she was medically cleared to return to action on Wednesday and considered likely to force her way in despite the Saints’ winning start.

St Kilda women’s football boss Jessie Mulholland said Barr had been “an absolute professional” since joining the club.

“Rehab is never a fun place to be, especially when arriving at a new club,” Mulholland said.

“We’ve been so proud of how she’s managed this additional setback on the eve of the season and can’t wait to see her back out on the track once granted the tick of approval.”

Nicola Stevens said she was thrilled to be able to play alongside Barr after they were taken in the same draft in 2016.

“Nic has got a wealth of leadership and experience, having been at a different club, and she’s really well respected among the group,” Stevens said.

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“Obviously being voted straight into the leadership group by our players in her first year … it speaks volumes of her character.

“She’s just an absolute workhorse. I know that whenever she gets that first chance to play in the red, white and black, she’ll work her backside off until the final siren.”

Melbourne will consider whether to recall Sinead Goldrick (managed) and Georgia Gall (ankle) for the Saturday afternoon clash, while Tayla Harris’ availability was yet to be determined after she poked herself in the eye during a marking contest during the Demons’ win over the Western Bulldogs.