{"id":907001,"date":"2026-05-19T12:12:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T17:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/tom-stewart-played-in-a-grand-final-then-a-private-health-battle-began\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T12:12:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T17:12:31","slug":"tom-stewart-played-in-a-grand-final-then-a-private-health-battle-began","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/tom-stewart-played-in-a-grand-final-then-a-private-health-battle-began\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Stewart played in a grand final. Then a private health battle began"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Peter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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Ten years ago, Tom Stewart could have been described simply as \u201ca chippy\u201d who had played in a couple of flags with South Barwon.<\/p>\n

He was typically Geelong, an ex-St Joseph\u2019s lad with a girlfriend, Emma, from Sacred Heart College, a bunch of close mates, a carpentry apprenticeship and a side hustle on the weekends with the Cats\u2019 VFL team.<\/p>\n

Victorian coach Chris Scott with his Geelong\/Victorian players (from left) Patrick Dangerfield, Max Holmes, Tom Stewart and Bailey Smith.<\/span>AFL Photos<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sort of bloke that might stumble into a local hotel any weekend this winter.<\/p>\n

Stewart knew he could play, but he had ended his teenage years after playing for Geelong Falcons with enough going on in his life to distract him from making football his profession.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He seemed content winning premierships with South Barwon, playing representative football and being a classic full-back, a 100-kilogram defender who picked up the best opposition forward.<\/p>\n

Then, at 22, as he began training with Geelong under Shane O\u2019Bree in the VFL, his latent ambition stirred.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought I\u2019d be doing myself, and those people at South [Barwon] who believed in me a disservice if I didn\u2019t give it my absolute all,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n

Stewart and wife Emma with their children Arthur and Charlie.<\/span>Ruby Alexander<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the pre-season he lived on kangaroo meat and rice, wore a tool belt by day and footy boots by night. He had reduced his weight to 94 kilograms when the season started. The No.67 Geelong jumper he wore was almost hanging off his 92-kilogram frame when it finished.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After making it clear to every AFL club interested in drafting him that his preference was to remain in Geelong, his name was still on the board when Stephen Wells plucked him at pick 40, the Cats\u2019 second pick after they chose Brandan Parfitt at 26.<\/p>\n

Stewart was 24 years and 11 days old when he made his debut in round one, 2017.<\/p>\n

Early in his first match, Stewart nudged the Dockers\u2019 Nat Fyfe under the ball to take the first of his now trademark intercept marks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was almost like an epiphany, like holy shit. This is actually happening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Saturday night, as verified by stats guru @sirswampthing, Stewart will become just the fifth player to reach 200 matches having turned 24 before making their debut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Len Hughes (Collingwood), Barry Rowlings (Hawthorn\/Richmond), Darren Jarman (Hawthorn\/Adelaide) and Andrew Thompson (St Kilda) are the other four. He is the first of the 2016 draft class to reach 200 matches.<\/p>\n

He became a star playing in the style of his coach and urger at South Barwon, Cats champion Matthew Scarlett, who had spruiked him to the Cats, positioning his slightly undersized body to take intercept marks and using his speed to rebound. That he did so as well as his predecessor in the No.44 jumper Corey Enright was galling to opposition fans.<\/p>\n

Stewart and the Brisbane Lions\u2019 Jarrod Berry before last year\u2019s grand final. Stewart missed with concussion and Berry missed with a shoulder injury.<\/span>AFL Photos<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been fast,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cMy biggest strength was my closing speed. I always had speed and power.\u201d<\/p>\n

He could mark, too, with those strong carpenter\u2019s hands regularly putting the ball in a vice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At training, he made sure he picked up Tom Hawkins or Patrick Dangerfield if they went forward to compete with them in the air. He gained confidence in his aerial ability and developed his craft and positioning. Soon enough in games he was backing himself to leave his man and intercept the ball in the air and on the ground.<\/p>\n

He learnt from teammates such as then-skipper Joel Selwood that winning the ball often wasn\u2019t about technique or confidence, it was will. \u201cPure desire\u201d are the words Stewart uses.<\/p>\n

But it was not all as easy as it might have seemed. That pure desire sometimes overwhelmed Stewart, as it had since his junior days.<\/p>\n

Stewart celebrates the 2022 premiership win. <\/span>AFL Photos<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI used to get myself so worked up before a game. I would make myself sick. I just put such a high premium on football. That it was used to my detriment because I\u2019d get to the game and I\u2019d be exhausted,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In his first year especially he\u2019d become more mentally than physically drained in the build-up as he stressed about what lay ahead. He battled with the expectations he put on himself and his desperation not to let anyone, including himself, down.<\/p>\n

Then COVID hit. That girlfriend from Sacred Heart, Emma, was now Stewart\u2019s wife, pregnant with their first child.<\/p>\n

\u201cI almost think of my career as pre- and post-COVID. Pre-COVID everything was footy, every decision, every waking moment was dedicated towards how I can succeed on the field?\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n

He built lifelong bonds with the Cats\u2019 families in the Southport hub where Geelong lived on their way to the grand final before his world was flipped on its head when their first son, Arthur, was born in Queensland days after the season finished.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou spend the first month of your parental journey in and out of the children\u2019s [hospital] in Queensland and in the NICU ward with the young fella with a heart condition (supraventricular tachycardia ) and everything just gets put into perspective,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n

Stewart\u2019s priorities shifted, yet he felt his football improved. All the same attributes and worries and wins and losses remained, but his ability to deal with them improved. As did, thankfully, Arthur\u2019s health. With medical help for which Stewart will always be grateful, he grew into a healthy, bright boy.<\/p>\n

Stewart (second from right) leads Geelong out before a 2024 game.<\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stewart won two best-and-fairest awards and a flag in the following three seasons, bringing his tally of All-Australians to five with selection in 2021, 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo win the premiership was like no other feeling I have ever had … what made it so sweet in \u201922 was that group had been through a lot together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In defence Stewart was as tough as a spotted gum or as cool as a fern-filled forest, depending on what the situation demanded.<\/p>\n

He overcame footy setbacks. A Lisfranc injury sidelined him for the 2021 finals series as the Cats were thumped in a preliminary final. In 2022, he was suspended for four matches for a poor bump on Richmond\u2019s Dion Prestia, which he didn\u2019t even try to defend at the tribunal. And then the Cats missed finals for the first time in his career in 2023.<\/p>\n

Stewart with Arthur (left) and Charlie this week.<\/span>Ruby Alexander<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But he had a premiership to show for it, his son was up and about, and another child, daughter Charlie, was born. Life was good.<\/p>\n

But nothing on the journey had prepared him for the devastation he felt when he was concussed in the preliminary final when tackled by the Hawks\u2019 Mabior Chol and forced to sit out last year\u2019s grand final<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI was pissed off with the world. It was hard, even as a mature man \u2026 I was f—ing flat. I couldn\u2019t sleep. I didn\u2019t want to talk to anyone,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n

He had no issue with the protocols or the lack of a bye heading into the grand final which may, or may not, have enabled him to play. Nor did he have a problem with the diagnosis. He was just battling to deal with the emotional fallout. <\/p>\n

Stewart could not think of anything worse than to show his face in public.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just felt, I don\u2019t know. I was just so sad. And the outpouring of support and all the kind words and the love that I felt didn\u2019t soften the blow at all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was all stuff that I was feeling, but my initial response, was how can I help?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The club told Stewart to do whatever he wanted, but he knew he had to front up to training and prove to himself, if nothing else, that he actually possessed the character to act well in the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just trying to be the man that I thought I was, and that I\u2019d earned the respect [for] over that 10-year period. It didn\u2019t mean it was easy. It didn\u2019t mean I got it right,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that was where I kept coming back to. It was, \u2018righto, this is an opportunity to prove that in some pretty shit circumstances, I can still care, still support, still be honest, still have humility, still handle the situation with grace\u2019. It still feels like a blur.\u201d<\/p>\n

That response, combined with his sensible post-match remarks about the importance of protecting players who are concussed, reflected Stewart\u2019s personality. He is thoughtful, sometimes emotional, but always focused on trying to do the right thing by those around him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Playing for Victoria in February\u2019s State of Origin match against Western Australia helped him bounce back and attack the season with renewed vigour. Arthur finally realised his dad \u201chad a pretty cool job\u201d when the families joined players for a photo after the siren.<\/p>\n

Arthur stood with his dad next to Nick Daicos and Marcus Bontempelli. He now thinks the Bulldogs champion named his business \u201cArthur\u2019s Milkbar\u201d after him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe keeps saying \u2018Bont\u2019 named his cafe after me because we\u2019re friends,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n

That chippy from South Barwon from a decade ago will enjoy the milestone with family and lifelong friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had the same group of mates since I was 15. I\u2019ve got a group of 11 mates who, outside my genuine blood relatives, are my family,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI think I\u2019ll be emotional on Saturday night because I\u2019ll look up in the stands and I\u2019ll see the same blokes I was playing under 14s with at South.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think I\u2019m taking the piss when I say that my career is like being in a dream. There are still some days when I walk in, and I\u2019m like, f—, I\u2019m such a lucky bloke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. <\/i><\/b><\/b>Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From our partners<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

Peter Ryan
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ten years ago, Tom Stewart could have been described simply as \u201ca chippy\u201d who had played in a couple of flags with South Barwon. He was typically Geelong, an ex-St Joseph\u2019s lad with a girlfriend, Emma, from Sacred Heart College, a bunch of close mates, a carpentry apprenticeship and a side hustle on the weekends<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":907002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22886,889],"tags":[15529,11123],"class_list":{"0":"post-907001","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-played","8":"category-stewart","9":"tag-played","10":"tag-stewart"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/907002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}