Stevens, 35, who played 231 games for Port Adelaide and Carlton, was in January found guilty of five counts of assault, two charges of intentionally causing injury, three of making threats to kill and single counts of threatening serious injury and criminal damage.

The charges related to incidents in 2012 and 2013 against his girlfriend of the time, including one instance on April 27, 2013 when he pushed the woman's head into a brick wall.

Stevens was found not guilty of a number of charges, while some alternate offences were withdrawn.

The former Carlton vice-captain admitted sending 2500 text messages to the woman in a two-month period and spending time with her at a P!nk concert, in a hotel room, at a pub and at friends' homes.

Leading Senior Constable Mark Sontag, prosecuting, told Ringwood Magistrates Court the text messages Stevens sent the woman included psychological abuse, threats of violence and claims he would self-harm, which made her feel manipulated.

In one text, the court heard, Stevens told the woman she would find herself "six foot under", while in another he threatened to "smash" in the mouth a man who was preparing to give evidence in court against him.

Magistrate Nunzio La Rosa, who earlier this year found Stevens guilty after a contested hearing, described the offending as "sustained violence" against a woman he was in a relationship with, and found he had not shown any remorse.

Stevens' contested hearing was told he assaulted the woman after she confronted him over his alleged infidelity during their relationship.

Mr La Rosa accepted character evidence Stevens was a great footballer and of otherwise good character, but said community standards expected an immediate jail term to be a "starting point" in sentencing in serious cases of domestic violence.

"This is an example, in my view, of not his general attitude towards women. It is his attitude .... of the person he is in a relationship with. That is the issue that the community is currently grappling with," he said.

The magistrate cited as the basis for his view a case in which a County Court judge imposed a three-month jail term on a man who had assaulted a woman at a nightclub. The man was initially fined by a magistrate, but prosecutors launched an appeal and argued that penalty was inadequate. The Court of Appeal later upheld the judge's decision.

Defence counsel Serge Petrovich said Stevens had paid a bigger price for his offending than most, given his profile and because the guilty verdicts had ruined his coaching career.

Stevens was sacked as coach of South Australian side Glenelg on the day he was found guilty, and AFL side St Kilda had earlier told him they could not consider him for an assistant coach role because of the charges against him, the court heard.

Mr Petrovich said his client, who retired from the AFL in 2009 because of a neck injury, did not suffer from alcohol, drug or psychological problems.

Friends, including former Carlton chief executive Michael Malouf, also lauded his good character, leadership and the role he played as the friend of a disabled boy.

The court heard Stevens and his ex-girlfriend had a tumultuous relationship, and that in the text messages he sent between June and August 2013, he said he loved her, but also called her a "f...ing bitch" and a "slut", and threatened that his lawyers would portray her as a "crack whore".

Leading Senior Constable Sontag said one text read: "No worries, I'll end my life. F... you."

Another said: "Enjoy the damage. I will. But just remember you asked for it."

Stevens said in one text he would "smash the c... in the mouth", in a reference to a man who was to give evidence against him.

The court heard the woman also sent about 2500 text messages during this period despite the intervention order in place. The order, which prevented any contact between the pair, was later varied to allow contact, the court heard.

Mr La Rosa accepted Stevens was distressed at the time, but also asked if he was trying to coerce the woman into withdrawing her allegations of violence.

Mr Petrovich insisted his client was not trying to pervert the course of justice.

Stevens had his bail extended and is likely to be sentenced next week.