Stephen Silvagni not present for son Jack’s 100-game presentation
The Silvagni name is part of the furniture at Carlton, but the family’s biggest figure was nowhere to be seen for a big milestone.
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Carlton legend Stephen Silvagni has come under fire after snubbing his eldest son’s 100th game presentation in a move that has raised eyebrows across the league.
Jack Silvagni started the 2023 season playing his 100th game for Carlton against Richmond on Thursday night, opening his account for the season in style with a trademark high-flying grab on the back of Noah Balta to set up a straightforward set shot 15 metres out.
Silvagni, coming off his first full year since 2017, has taken longer than most to reach the century milestone, and naturally it would be a proud family moment, with father Stephen as well as grandfather Sergio both Carlton Hall of Famers.
The Silvagnis are synonymous with the Carlton Football Club, and the family have had a strong presence at Princes Park dating back to the early 1950s, with three generations of the family wearing the navy blue No. 1 jumper.
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Indeed, the family links are so strong at Carlton that Stephen Silvagni was the list manager who drafted Jack as a father-son selection in 2015, but Stephen was nowhere to be seen on Thursday night after the game.
Seven’s Mitch Cleary reported that the 312-game fullback was invited into the Blues’ rooms after their opening game draw with Richmond for the presentation of son Jack’s 100th game presentation in front of family and friends.
According to Cleary, Jack noted in his speech that father Stephen, now the list manager at St Kilda after a tumultuous exit from Carlton in 2019, wasn’t present and opted to remain in the car.
Former Seven sports presenter Jim Wilson said it was “disappointing and petulant”.
“Very ordinary from SOS,” he wrote.
SOS refers to Stephen’s nickname, “Son of Serge”.
Jack’s younger brother Ben, also drafted to Carlton but delisted without playing a game, responded to Cleary’s tweet and said: “can confirm he was really tired and wanted to go home.”
“Really good story Mitch,” he sarcastically said.
Cleary responded that people in the dressing rooms were asking about the Team of the Century fullback, noting the significance of the milestone for his eldest son.
“Didn’t realise it was other people’s business,” Ben replied.
Responding to another social media user on Twitter, Ben said “none of us (the family) had a problem with it.”
“I wouldn’t have thought he owes the club anything either,” he added.
Stephen Silvagni left Carlton following a falling out with club management, with the club releasing a statement claiming that Silvagni’s position as list manager was a conflict of interest given his two sons were at the club.
“The difficult decision to not enter into a new contract with Silvagni as GM list management and strategy centred around the increasing complexity of having two sons on the playing list,” the club said at the time.
“The situation is not only a conflict for the club’s GM list management and strategy, but equally for those who work in and around him in the football department.”
Silvagni hit out at the press release in an interview with SEN at the time, calling it a “messy” situation.
“What hurt me the most…probably when your president has a chat to you and he says I’ve fought for you, that the CEO felt as though I would sabotage the trade and draft period,” he said.
“I hate talking about myself, but when you’ve played for a club for 17 years and you put your body on the line and supported the club all your life, for a person to say you’ll sabotage the trade and draft period, and for me, an outsider that’s come into the club and doesn’t know a lot about the club or me, that was probably the most disappointing out of everything that happened.
“Looking back at the press release, it puts the boys (sons Jack and Ben) under the bus and it was amateur, to be honest.
“That was probably the most hurtful thing. I think your two biggest assets at a football club are your supporters and your players.
“It got messy in the end.”
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