Steele Sidebottom

Steele Robert Sidebottom (born 2 January 1991) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League. He made the All-Australian team in 2018 and is a two-time Copeland Trophy winner as Collingwood best and fairest. Recruited from Congupna Football Club and the Murray Bushrangers, Sidebottom was selected by Collingwood with selection 11 in the 2008 AFL draft. As a bottom-ager, Sidebottom dominated the 2008 TAC Cup Grand Final earlier in the year with a 10 goal, 32 disposal best-on-ground performance. He was touted as a midfielder who was prolific in overhead marking as well as one-on-one contests. An AIS/AFL Academy graduate and Vic Country representative in 2008, Sidebottom also was selected in the All-Australian team following the 2008 AFL Under 18 Championships. A mid/forward in youth, Sidebottom became a star as a pure inside/outside midfielder for Collingwood. He won the Copeland Trophy twice as the club's best and fairest in 2017 and 2018 as well as playing in the team's premierships in 2010 and 2023. Sidebottom was selected in the 2018 All-Australian team, the same year he finished second in the Brownlow Medal. He was the co-vice captain of Collingwood from 2015 until 2022. After retiring at the conclusion of the 2026 season, Sidebottom's games tally sits at 375, second all time for Collingwood, only behind Scott Pendlebury's 442, whom of which he played an AFL/VFL record 340 games alongside. This surpassed the tally of 307 set by Adelaide teammates Andrew McLeod and Tyson Edwards. They also played in 194 wins together, a figure only surpassed by Geelong pair Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins' 217.