From the Sunday Age
Reported by Brent Diamond
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NORTH BALLARAT: The VFL's top ruckman Orren Stephenson has watched Hawthorn battle with one fit ruckman and wished he could jump in and fill the void.
The 27-year-old, who trained with Hawthorn over the pre-season before the Hawks chose Wayde Skipper ahead of him in last year's rookie draft, is hoping for third time lucky after a pre-season stint with Carlton in 2007. "I was at the game in Ballarat when Simon [Taylor] went down. I thought there's an opportunity there and Skip will get a game here," he said.
Skipper will come back from a hamstring injury through the Box Hill Hawks tomorrow.
Stephenson said he was "frustrated" after missing out at the Hawks. "I'm married and with three kids and I work full-time [as an electrician] and the main breadwinner. I had to talk about what a rookie pay would be," he said.
At 200 centimetres and 104 kilograms, Stephenson has been the obvious pick for state team selection against Western Australia on May 22. The former Redan player, who plays a similar ruck style to that of Western Bulldog Ben Hudson, said he has renewed ambitions to play AFL after the success of Michael Barlow, Alex Silvagni and James Podsiadly this season.
