Chris Stewart may be an adopted son at Deer Park, but he is one of the favourites.
Stewart played his 100th club game for the Lions to much fanfare in a 162-point win over Wyndhamvale in Western Region Football League division 1 at John McLeod Oval on Saturday.
Lions player-coach Marc Bullen described Stewart as “a fantastic person on and off the field”.
“I’ve never heard a person say a bad word about him,” Bullen said.
Stewart has been an integral part of Deer Park’s rise to the top.
The ruckman played in all four of the Lions premiership four-peat campaigns.
Success has followed Stewart wherever he has played, including two flags with Maribyrnong Park and another with North Heidelberg.
His senior career is up there with some of the greats.
“He’s not only been one of the best performers in the WRFL, but suburban footy,” Bullen said.
“To play in seven A-grade flags over the course of 10 years is a pretty special effort.”
Stewart, 32, is showing no signs of slowing down.
As a ruckman, his mobility is his main attribute – if he does not win the tap, he will follow up at ground level.
When he plays forward, his ability in the air makes him a hard player to match up on for defenders.
Stewart will look back on his premiership medallions fondly at the end of his career, but there is no time for that now.
The club captain is producing career-best form and should have plenty of years left to play.
Bullen said Stewart’s past month had been outstanding.
“His game last week against Albion was outstanding – he took about 20 marks and followed it up again today [against Wyndhamvale] with a 15-mark game,” Bullen said. “He’d be favourite for the medal at the end of the year in my opinion.”
Stewart also excels off the field.
He is a true leader at training and away from the ground. His loyalty to the Lions has been unwavering, even though he travels from Wallan for training and game days.
“He’s just a selfless person,” Bullen said. “He leads by example in his actions and brings the players along with him.”
It was an illustration of how highly rated Stewart is at Deer Park when James Condos can kick 12 goals in a match and Jake McKenzie produce a stellar performance in the midfield, yet all the talk in the rooms post-game centred on Stewart.
“James Condos and Jase Perkins [five goals] in tandem worked well in the forward line and probably the best player on the park today was Jake McKenzie, but today’s day is Stewy’s day,” Bullen said.
Deer Park’s resounding win has seen it maintain a one-game and percentage buffer over second-placed Spotswood on the ladder.
The Lions should have no worries on the road when they take on a struggling St Albans this Saturday.
Alarmingly for the rest of the competition, Deer Park still has Kwame McHarg, Max Bruin, Shannon Byrnes and Ryan Houlihan to come back into the side.
“Our team will get better towards the end of the season,” Bullen said.
