Steven Febey was born on the 19th of August 1969 and was recruited from Devonport to Melbourne making his AFL debut in 1988.
He looked headed for the scrapheap when dropped midway through the 2001 season, but that setback served only to spur Melbourne's most experienced player on to greater heights. He finished the 2001 season as one of the Demons' most consistent players and was fourth in the club's best and fairest. Led the Demons in handballs for 2001 with 154. Starts 2002 with 258 games to his name and, given a reasonable season, should break Robert Flower's club record of 272. In 2002 he has entered his 14th season at senior level. This will probably be his last season in the AFL.
He wears Guernsey Number 21 for the Demons. He is the only man to have played in both of Melbourne's grand final appearances since 1964 and he has played the most games ever by someone selected in the national draft.
Steven Febey was 3rd in the club best and fairest in 1998 and played in the pre-season premiership side of 1989.He has finished in the top five of Melbourne's best and fairest three times while also representing Victoria, the Allies and his native Tasmania at interstate level.
Melbourne veteran Steven Febey’s misfortune continues in 2002, this time forced off the training track by an ankle injury.
Febey,32, was set to play his second game with Sandringham against Bendigo in May, since overcoming a torn pectoral muscle suffered in the pre-season, but hurt his ankle in the warm-up and took no part in the game.
Medical staff believe that the ankle may require an arthroscope.
It continues a frustrating run for the midfielder, who has not been able to add to his 258 games tally this year. In his first game back for the Zebras, he was named best on ground and was hoping to push for senior selection with another strong showing.
Steven Febey has resigned himself to the fact that he will not pass Robbie Flower’s games record this year.
Febey, with his current tally at 258, is 14 games short of Flower’s club record of 272 games.
Febey, who signed a new one-year contract with the Demons after finishing fourth in the best and fairest last year, said that Flower’s record was on his mind earlier in the year.
“Once we’d agreed that I was going to play another year, it was certainly something that was there over the pre-season,” Febey said. “It (the record) would be a nice thing to have and if I got the opportunity to play 20 games, it would have happened.”
“But it wasn’t the thing that was the driving motivation to play this year. The actual chance to play again was the main point and if I broke the record, well that was a bonus.”
Febey added that he feels proud of his achievements with Melbourne, without breaking the record.
“In the end, whether I break the record or not, it’s still just a number and I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve been able to stay at the club for as long as what I have. Having said that, the record would be great, but I’m not hinging all efforts on it.”
Once he is promoted to the seniors, if Febey can display the form that he demonstrated in the second half of last season, there is no reason why he can’t have another crack at the record in 2003.
But Febey likes to think that whether he or Flower holds the record in the short-term, it will hopefully be extended to 300-games plus, by some his younger teammates in the longer-term.
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Steven Febey - A Tasmanian Football Legend
