Jaidyn Stephenson's name has been thrown around this trade period as a potential suitor to a number of clubs as Collingwood look to free up cap space.
Collingwood have reportedly told Adam Treloar he is no longer required and it is believed that Stephenson along with wingman Tom Phillips may also be gettable.
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd believes the idea of being moved on could be the kick up the backside Stephenson needs to re-capture the form of his debut season.
โIt didnโt surprise me that his name has come up for trade because I just think that the game does work you out a little bit,โ Lloyd toldย AFL Trade Radioโs The Early Trade.
โWhen he gets space out of the goal square heโs a very good AFL footballer because they canโt handle his speed but with any physical contact or players in front of him, what else can he do to win himself some football?
โIt could be a good wake-up call for him as well.
โJaidynโs got to take a good look at himself in a lot of aspects and maybe Collingwood are just giving him a wake-up call that he needs.โ
Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes believes that Collingwood need to stick with Stephenson and show some faith after his poor 2020.
โIf thatโs the case, I get a little bit frustrated by it,โ Cornes said.
โI thought his body language and his performance was poor, but this happens to young players in the game sometimes. I think we can expect too much from players.
โI donโt know how well Jaidyn prepares himself off the field and what sort of professional he is โฆ does he do everything to be the best possible player that he can be?
โBut at the end of the day, heโs 21 years of age, he kicked 38 goals in his first season as an 18-year-old, he kicked 24 goals from 14 games last year with some distractions off the field and he had a poor year this year.
โOne poor year out of three as a young player is quite common, so the first sign of any weakness in his game Collingwood are like, โHang on, weโre done, weโre out of here. Weโre done with you Jaidyn, weโre not going to dig in, weโre not going to develop your game, weโre not going to work on areas that are deficient. Weโre not going to lay down the law of what we expect off the field to get the best out of you. We canโt be bothered doing that, weโre trading youโ.
โIt frustrates me a little bit and what are you going to get in the draft for a pick with Jaidyn Stephenson thatโs better or has more potential than Jaidyn Stephenson?โ
