One of the Australian Football League’s most decorated Collingwood Magpies veterans, Steele Sidebottom, has opened up about the internal reasoning that led him to announce his retirement, the lifestyle shifts that shaped his 15-year professional career, and the highlight moment that stands out above all others across 373 senior games.
Sidebottom, a two-time premiership winner with the club, revealed he made the final call to end his playing tenure on the cusp of this year’s iconic Anzac Day clash – a fixture where he twice earned best-on-ground honours. Contrary to widespread speculation that the high-profile match would be his fairytale send-off, the 34-year-old explained that no single game or sentimental trigger pushed him toward retirement. Instead, the mental weight of planning for life after football had started to overshadow the joy he once felt competing in front of Collingwood’s legions of adoring fans.
“I guess when it came down to it, there was no specific big event behind the decision,” Sidebottom explained. “I realized I wasn’t enjoying my footy anymore because I was constantly distracted by the inevitable decision I’d have to make about retiring at some point. It wasn’t Anzac Day itself – I love playing that match more than any other – it just wasn’t any one specific reason that pushed me over the line.”
Sidebottom made his senior AFL debut for Collingwood back in 2009, and just 12 months later, he claimed his first premiership medallion as a young up-and-comer. Looking back on the early years of his career, he reflected that he fell into the typical party culture of young footballers, shaped by an upbringing with four older brothers that left him drawn to casual drinking sessions with friends. That all changed when he met his now-wife Alisha, who arrived at exactly the right moment to help him refocus and adjust his off-field priorities.
“I probably struggled to find the right balance early on,” Sidebottom admitted. “I always put everything I had into my training and match play, but there were definitely habits off the field that I needed to change. When I met Alisha, she was exactly the person I needed to meet at that point in my life, so I knew I had to adjust. I was a professional footballer, not a part-time one – but back then, I was just doing the minimum required, I wasn’t going above and beyond to get the most out of my ability.
“In my early 20s, there’s so many distractions. My friends weren’t in professional sport, they lived totally different lives, and I often got pulled into going home for beers with them after training. But I don’t regret a minute of it – I’ve had the kind of career most players can only dream of, and I’m really proud of everything I’ve achieved.”
Across his 15 seasons, Sidebottom played 373 senior games, but the highlight he calls unbeatable is the Magpies’ 2023 premiership – a title that came 13 long years after his first top-flight success. He explained that as a young player in 2010, he was too inexperienced to fully grasp what a premiership meant to the club and its fanbase, but after more than a decade of falling short of grand final success, he was able to savor every moment of the 2023 win.
“2023 is definitely my favourite memory,” he said. “In 2010 I was so young, I didn’t really understand what that premiership meant to so many people, to be honest. I kind of took it for granted. Then, when you go years without getting to play in a grand final, you realize how rare that success is. Waiting 13 years for another chance made me really appreciate 2023, and I made sure I enjoyed every second of it.”
Looking ahead to life after football, Sidebottom said he has no immediate plans and is approaching his post-playing future as a blank canvas – but he ruled out one popular next step for retired stars: coaching. “Probably not, no. I think coaches are a totally different breed,” he said with a laugh. “You have to be all-in to be a coach, and right now I’m just not ready for that commitment. It wouldn’t be fair to the club or the players if I went into coaching half-hearted. I’m just going to take some time to reflect on my career, and enjoy what life after footy has to offer.”