In the most recent episode of Legends of Kardinia Park, Stephen Wells looks back on his nearly forty years spent at Kardinia Park.
Stephen Wells’ humility strikes you right away if you spend any time with him.
Genuinely humble.
wherever someone brings up his incredible accomplishments throughout his 39 years with the Cats, he graciously steers the subject in a different direction and gives credit to others wherever he can.
Thanks to McCafe, Wells had an extensive interview as part of the Legends of Kardinia Park series with Geelong champion captain Cameron Ling ahead of the 2023 AFL Draught.
Not surprisingly, Wells’s memory is a veritable gold mine of tales and stories about some of the best Geelong players in history.
He tells about Gary Ablett Jr.’s first summer at Kardinia Park, when they realised “Little Gaz,” as he called him, was unique, and how they chose Harry Taylor, a vital defender, over Scott Selwood even though Matt Egan, the current All-Australian centre half back, was already on the roster.
And the subsequent phone call to Bryce Selwood to clarify Scott’s cancellation from Geelong.
Then there was the occasion when he drove to the houses of promising prospects James Kelly and Steve Johnson with Premiership coach Mark Thompson. Perhaps you are familiar with them.
“Mark and I both agreed when we came out of there that they were two of the sort of players that we’d like to have at our club,” he recalls laughing. “We went to a lot of different houses, but we did go to the Kellys and we did go to the Johnsons.”
Most people would agree that Wells deserves all of the recognition that comes his way since he has his fingers all over the four premierships that Geelong has experienced since 2007 as well as every other on-field triumph over the previous forty years.
However, if you truly want to comprehend “Wellsy,” as he is lovingly referred to by almost everyone in the business, you have to see how much he values his football team and the individuals who suffer from it.
“We want players to have good, long careers, but we also want them to play in a lot of winning games and help us win premierships. It’s a results-based business,” he stated.
“However, my emotions towards the’stars’ of our team, the players who have won three premierships and are captains, are no less intense than those towards the guys who play a few games and really make the most of their chance because, although they may not be at the same level, they gave it their all.”
However, if you truly want to know how much his football team matters to him, you should question him about 2007. That was the year the Cats ended their drought.
It’s obviously personal to him, and when he apologises to Ling, it’s in a disarmingly humble way, letting his feelings run wild.
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