Cooper Stephens Biography

Hawthorn select Cooper Stephens with pick No.3 in the 2023 Rookie Draft.

Tom Mitchell will be a Collingwood player in 2023, Oliver Henry will join brother Jack at Geelong, and Cooper Stephens has joined the Hawks from the Cats in a three-way deal finalised in the dying minutes of the 2022 AFL Trade Period.

The Magpies have also received pick No.25 from Geelong in the exchange, with Hawthorn landing picks No.41 and 50 from Collingwood in the deal.

Cooper Stephens makes his AFL debut for Geelong at Manuka Oval with 19 disposals (8 kicks and 11 handballs), 4 marks and a tackle in a 53-point win over GWS.

Vic Country has lost one of its leading midfielders for the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, with Cooper Stephens set to miss the carnival with a suspected fractured leg.

The Geelong Falcons ball-winner and draft prospect suffered the injury to his lower leg on Sunday in his side's draw with the Dandenong Stingrays in the NAB League.

"We're expecting him to recover in six-to-eight weeks. He won't be playing in the under-18 championships," Falcons talent manager Mick Turner said..

"You've got to take a conservative approach with these players, so the main thing we've got to do is get him over the injury and look to get him playing with us by the end of the year."