Port Adelaide has opted not to give a list spot to Jaidyn Stephenson, after the former Collingwood star spent the summer training with the team.
The Power have three list openings they can fill via the supplemental selection period, but seemingly have others in mind.
Stephenson, the 2018 Rising Star winner, retired at just 25 after losing his passion for the sport.
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Jaidyn Stephenson training with Port Adelaide. Port Adelaide
But 18 months on, he attempted to make a comeback via the Power, who agreed to let him train with the club over summer. That quest has seemingly come to an end before it really began.
Stephenson kicked 38 goals in his first season for the Magpies and looked like one of the best young talents in the game.
His 2019 fell apart, however, after he was caught gambling on a Collingwood game and suspended for the rest of the home-and-away season.
He was then traded to North Melbourne a year later, where a drunken injury suffered riding a bicycle in his backyard would set him back once again.
The 26-year-old retired at the end of 2024 after playing 122 games, opting to play local footy in Victoria instead.
Stephenson kicked two goals and four behinds in Port’s scratch match loss to Adelaide on Friday, but has still been overlooked for a list spot.
Former Geelong midfielder Ted Clohesy, and state-league players Mitch Zadow and Balyn O’Brien remain with the Power, hoping to claim those openings.
Jason Horne-Francis of the Power. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Port Adelaide has also cleared star midfielder Jason Horne-Francis of a serious injury, after he hurt his foot during the practice match clash with the Crows.
Horne-Francis has been battling the foot injury since the latter half of the 2025 season and clearly hasn’t got it right.
The Power haven’t ruled him out for round one, though he would have to be in doubt for their clash with North Melbourne.
If he plays, it will be Horne-Francis’ first game against the Kangaroos in Victoria since he sensationally requested a trade out of the club after just one year.
The Roos picked the star midfielder as the No.1 pick in the 2021 draft, but he pushed his way back home to Adelaide after just 12 months.
Since then, every game between the two clubs has either been in South Australia or Tasmania, with round one’s Marvel Stadium clash set to change that.
It will be North fans’ first chance to say hello to Horne-Francis, assuming he gets through this foot injury.
The Kangaroos were belted by Melbourne in their first pre-season hit-out on Friday, going down by 80 points and losing young defender Riley Hardeman to an ankle injury.