An Essendon supporter friend of mine (Mark Franklin) recently said to me that when Nick Stevens was at Port Adelaide he liked him, and then when he moved to Carlton he hated him. His hair got greasier, he seemed to be sneering, and his eventual incarceration for domestic violence seemed to fit the new image.
My own thoughts on Nick Stevens remained unchanged upon his arrival at Carlton, but that’s because I have a fairly strong hatred for Port Adelaide. I hate Carlton too, but I disliked Stevens equally at both clubs. Franka’s dislike of Stevens did not, in my view, grow from a darkening of the hair, but from the fact that he had become a Carlton player. And fair enough.
I recall being disappointed when Matthew Lappin went to Carlton from St Kilda. He only played 55 games for the Saints in the mid-90s before moving over to the Blues for his extra 196 games, but I liked him. I liked the fact that he was a skinny fellow out there with the big boys, and he seemed to have time and space, which is a rare trait. I was annoyed he’d moved to my least favourite club.