THIS week’s WATN tracks down a loyal club man who knocked back Essendon to live out his dream of playing AFL football with Port Adelaide.

Stephen Carter was a rugged defender who played 172 games for the Magpies and 10 for the Power, winning five SANFL premierships.

But he revealed that because he lived in Salisbury West on the border of the Port Adelaide and Central District zones, his Port Adelaide career almost didn’t happen – although there was never any question about where his loyalties rested.

“I was out at Salisbury West in my junior days and I lived in the Port Adelaide and Central Districts border,” he recalled.

“My junior days were with Central District but the school stuff was all with the Port zone.

“Scott Hodges came from Salisbury West and there were a few good players who came from that club – obviously he was the stand-out – and back then I had no expectation of playing league football but I was just lucky enough that I was on Port’s side of the zone and that’s where I ended up.”

Carter worked his way through the junior grades with the Magpies before making his league debut in 1991 while still a teenager.

He still remembers being slightly overawed at being able to play with some of the players he looked up to as a boy including Hodges.

“I was lucky enough to play every grade when I was 17 – I played 17s, 19s, reserves and league footy all in the one year in 1991.

“In that 1991 side there were some great names playing and as a 17-year-old it was fantastic to be able to run out alongside some of the guys you were watching play as a kid.

“He was a great of the game, he was a fantastic full forward and I just never thought I would be able to play alongside him.

Premiership success

While the 1990s landed Port Adelaide seven premierships, Carter didn’t get his first taste until 1994.

It was the year he played his first full-season, and a year where the Magpies were the underdogs, having lost to fellow Grand Finalists Woodville-West Torrens by 73-points in the Semi-Final two weeks earlier.

Down by 35-points, Port slowly fought back, eventually winning by 37 points with Hodges finishing with six goals.

It’s a special memory for a man who held up the trophy on five occasions.

“The first flag is always the most special in 1994 against the Eagles,” Carter said.

“We were definitely the underdogs; the Eagles had hammered us all year.

“And then on Grand Final day being so far behind at half time and to come back and have a win in my first grand final it was certainly pretty special, it really stands out for me.”

AFL dream

At the end of 1994, Carter’s name was called at Pick 39 in the AFL draft by Essendon.

The Bombers had also selected Scott Lucas, Gary Moorcroft and Blake Caracella that year, choosing Carter ahead of Michael O’Loughlin, who went to Sydney at Pick 40.

“I was in Hawaii when I was drafted on a footy trip and Bob Clayton told me I had been drafted,” Carter said.

“It was my first full year of League football and I went over for a week with Essendon and came back to Adelaide.

“We had all sorts of negotiations and Port was telling me they wanted me to stay because they were going into the AFL.

“Speaking with some Port Adelaide people like Timmy Ginever, I sat down with my manager at the time, I sat down with Chris McDermott even and spoke about football.

“One of the things he said was that if he had the opportunity to play for Glenelg if they were going into the AFL he would love that and I decided another full year of league football wouldn’t hurt before Port came into the AFL.

“I figured I wouldn’t lose out from one more year in the SANFL, and I was just hoping Port would come into the AFL early.”

Carter continued to play with the Magpies in the meantime, winning Premierships in 1995 and 1996.

He had to wait until 1997 to get his AFL chance with the Power and he was among the 21 players to run out in black, white and teal in the first game for the club against Collingwood at the MCG.

“To have the opportunity to play for Port Adelaide when they got their AFL licence was a big carrot to stay.

“I don’t regret it, I had a great time with the Magpies and won more Premierships.

“It was quite special because when we ran out, I thought ‘how awesome is this?’ but then Collingwood ran out and it went up a level, it was deafening, and certainly an experience I will never forget.”

Injury ends AFL time

But it didn’t quite go to plan for the then 23-year-old.

After playing 10 games in the first season in the AFL, he was delisted.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, especially when he was also part of the Magpies side which lost the SANFL Grand Final.

“I had signed a two-year deal (with the Power) but in the 1997 Grand Final that we lost against Norwood I snapped my posterior cruciate ligament and from there I was delisted,” Carter remembered.

“I was given the opportunity to do the pre-season training with the Power, but my injury put me out of pre-season training so it was disappointing, definitely.

“When I overcame the injury I certainly wanted to come back and in 1998 have a good year, hoping another AFL club would look at me.

“It didn’t work out that way but I had some great times with the Magpies and plenty of success.”

Carter continued on with the Magpies until the end of 2003.

After an open and honest discussion with then coach Stephen Williams, he decided it was time to call time on his career.

“I’d done the pre-season with the Magpies, Matthew Knights had come to the club,” Carter said.

“Stephen Williams was coaching at the time and he had told me with match-ups I probably wouldn’t play against Centrals, Sturt and Norwood and this was at the start of the season.

“I was thinking that if we got to finals those were the teams we would be playing so I decided it was probably time to retire.”

Initially Carter had decided he would finish up with football completely at that point, but he was coaxed into playing at various amateur clubs for a number of years.

“I had two seasons at Gepps Cross, then I had a season at Port Districts, then a mate I went to school with was coaching at Eudunda and asked me to come to training and help out with a few drills and I ended up playing two seasons there,” he said.

“I then had another season or two at Port Districts before I retired for good.

“I always said to myself that at the end of SANFL that was going to be it because I had a young son but you get the bug, you enjoy playing but it was really good helping out some younger blokes in those sides.”

Still involved with footy

Since ending his playing days Carter has moved into the world of junior coaching.

He coached his son Miller, 16, from the under 12s to under 16s at Port Districts and has spent the last couple of years at the Eagles helping out with the under 14s development squad which his other son Hunter, 14, is involved with.

His wife Leanne is the daughter of Wally Dittmar who won a premiership and played 79 games for the Magpies in the 1950s.

Over the years he has worked as a draftsman for Macweld, he worked for Penrice Soda products for nine years and even installed fencing in his own business for a while.

These days he works at Outer Harbor at the Flinders Ports container terminal.

While he is currently renovating his house, he fills in what little spare time he has by taking his boys waterskiing and surfing, and to the football to watch the Magpies and Power.

Carter also tries to stay in touch with as many of his former teammates as possible.

 “I work with Damien Angove and Mark r, I still stay in touch with Nigel Fiegert, there’s also still a few past players tied up with Port Districts like Rohan Smith,” he said.

“But when you go to a Port Adelaide game you always bump into someone, that’s the good thing about football – you get to have some success and you make lifelong mates.”

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