Wayne Carey responds to claims of 'altercation' with Anthony Stevens
Wayne Carey has denied an altercation with former teammate Anthony Stevens got physical over the weekend after the pair reportedly clashed at a North Melbourne reunion.
According to reports, Carey and Stevens 'had to be separated' at a gathering of former Kangaroos players on Saturday night.
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Players from North Melbourne’s premiership team in 1996 gathered at the Railway Hotel in Yarraville on Saturday night before a parade at the Kangaroos' game on Sunday.
But things reportedly turned nasty between Carey and Stevens, re-igniting the affair scandal that rocked the club in 2002.
Carey was famously caught having an affair with Stevens' wife Kelli, later leaving the club in disgrace.
Carey and Stevens were allegedly involved in a verbal stoush on Saturday night, which SEN reporter Sam Edmund described as an “ugly altercation”.
“Witnesses said...that Carey went at Stevens, accusing him of talking behind his back, telling people not to bother trying to catch up with him but then being fine in-person,” Edmund said on Monday.
Nine News Melbourne reported that Stevens was left “clearly agitated” by Carey’s comments, with teammates “ushering” Stevens to a separate area in the venue to cool down.
Carey later told told Channel 7 colleague Tom Browne that the pair didn't have to be pulled apart, saying Stevens stayed with the group when they went to a second venue in St Kilda.
According to the Herald Sun, the pair “moved on and shared a beer together” afterwards.
Stevens wasn't in attendance when the players gathered at Marvel Stadium on Sunday for a parade before North Melbourne's clash with Sydney.
Teammates said Stevens didn't boycott the event but wasn't in attendance because he was ill.
Carey joined 16 other former teammates as they were paraded around the ground in front of fans.
Carey was in a vehicle with Wayne Schwass and premiership coach Denis Pagan, while Glenn Archer - who famously caught Carey in an affair with Stevens' wife - was also there.
Stevens was one of a number of players who caught his wife with Carey in a bathroom at a birthday party ahead of the 2002 season, in an incident that made headlines around the country.
North Melbourne captain at the time, Carey sat out the 2002 season before leaving the club in to join the Adelaide Crows.
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Speaking in February on reality TV show SAS Australia, Carey described the scandal as the "biggest regret" of his life.
“I slept with a teammate’s wife. It’s haunted me for 20 years," Carey said.
“The affair, it’s the biggest regret of my life as an adult. I’ve done a lot of work, I’m trying to overcome it.
“People say people can’t change - you haven’t lived in my shoes if you say people can’t change. People can change, they evolve and I’m a perfect example of someone that’s been able to evolve.”
Speaking about the scandal last year, North Melbourne champion Brent Harvey said it set the club back "four or five years".
“Not in terms of just Wayne leaving, but just everything," Harvey told the TAB’s Inside 50 podcast with Crawf and Quinny.
"Anthony Stevens became the captain, he didn’t need to be captain with everything going on, there was a big divide with the group.
“My initial thought was it’s not true but once you find out something happened it’s like, ‘Wow’.
“We lost not only our best player but our captain, probably one of the greatest players to ever play our game. That’s hard to digest as a young kid that’s trying to win flags and do everything."
Carey separated with his wife Sally in 2006, while Stevens and wife Kelli split in 2008.
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