Stephens broke his leg at the start of his final underage year. Despite being disappointed he took the opportunity to train with the Geelong Falcons high performance manager and was in good shape for the combine testing at the end of the year.[1]
Stephens had an interrupted start in the AFL, he was reduced to hub scratch matches in 2020 and in 2021 he suffered a ankle injury.[2] He managed to string enough games in the VFL to be considered for a promotion to the senior side. He made his debut in Canberra against the Greater Western Sydney in round 8 2022. He managed to play seven senior games in his debut season.
^The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.