Geelong recruit Jack Steven reveals he came close to quitting the game he loves during mental health battle

During the depths of a mental health battle that ruined his 2019 season at St Kilda, Geelong recruit Jack Steven has revealed he almost quit footy all together, but says he’s reinvigorated as a Cat.

Geelong recruit Jack Steven has revealed how close he came to walking away from the game during his mental health battle earlier this year.

The former Saint played only seven games this year after taking an extended break from football to deal with his personal issues.

But he says he is feeling invigorated about a move back to the Bellarine Peninsula and a fresh start with the Cats.

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Jack Steven tries on his new Geelong colours for the first time.

Asked if he had considered stepping back from AFL football on a more permanent basis, the 29-year-old candidly said: “Yep” before clarifying that he still loved the game, even when he was at a low ebb.

“I love playing … I still wanted to play,” Steven said at a press conference at his new club on Thursday.

“I don’t think my footy dies down that quickly, it’s just my fitness and getting to (a) happy, healthy state.

“It (having a break) had to happen. Everyone reacts differently to mental health. Some people can deal with it better than others and I just needed to take a break.

“It was the right thing to do.”

There had been speculation the star midfielder/forward was prepared to stand out of football if he had not been traded to Geelong this year, such was his desire to be closer to his parents and to his former home of Torquay.

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But the four-time St Kilda best-and-fairest winner said that while it was “touch and go” for a period whether he would be traded, it was a massive relief when the deal went through.

“I think it will make me more comfortable,” he said. “With a young family and my own family around, I will be nice and comfortable and get fit again, get happy and get healthy, so that is what I am aiming to do.”

“It was touch and go for a little bit. But I think it worked out pretty well in the end.

“I was still contracted to St Kilda so I understood there was a process and if it didn’t happen it didn’t happen, and obviously the Saints are a great club so it wasn’t all doom but I am really happy to be come down to the Cats.

“I went to the Saints when I was 17 so it is all I have really known. I owe a lot to them and I am really thankful but super stoked to be down here.”

Simon Lethlean and the Saints had a busy trade period. Pic: Getty Images

Josh Bruce was part of the Saints’ trade jigsaw. Pic: AAP

Geelong traded its pick 58, which had been ontraded from the Gold Coast for Zac Smith, to the Saints for Steven.

It could be a bargain transaction for the Saints as they look for a midfield spike following Tim Kelly’s departure to West Coast.

Steven remains convinced he can get back to his best form “pretty much straight away”, saying he was happy to play whatever role coach Chris Scott wanted him to.

“I have always played forward so everyone sees me as a midfielder but I always rest forward or go forward for little stints in quarters,” he said.

“Nothing is really going to change unless they chuck me in a back pocket really because I have always been a mid-forward.”

He showed his class when he returned to kick three goals and lift the Saints off the canvas against Fremantle in his first game back from his mental health break in Round 21.

Originally published as Geelong recruit Jack Steven reveals he came close to quitting the game he loves during mental health battle