Geelong star Tyson Stengle is yet to play for the club this season after taking a break for personal reasons in the off-season, with reports he remains unlikely to feature any time soon.
The forward has reportedly only had sporadic contact with the club since Gather Round, with reports of a falling out between himself, senior figures at the club and even his management group.
SEN reporter Sam Edmund revealed on Wednesday that Stengle's behaviour in recent times has led to the falling out, with his welfare now a club concern.
READ MORE: Nine and NBL unite to become Australia's home of basketball
READ MORE: 'Difficult conversations': Coach breaks silence after photo scandal
READ MORE: Brereton's powerful observation amid sad Hollands saga
He has returned to the club from his personal break, but hasn't been a consistent presence at training since Gather Round.
The 27-year-old has played 93 games for Geelong after starting his career at Richmond and then Adelaide.
He was a key part of the club's 2022 premiership success, making the All-Australian team, and was rewarded with a contract through to the end of 2029 reportedly on $750,000 per season.
It was a remarkable career turnaround after being delisted by Adelaide mid-contract in 2021. He was stood down after he was pictured with an alleged illicit substance in the previous off-season.
Stengle turned himself into one of the game's top small forwards, kicking 160 goals in four seasons at the Cats.
Things once again appear murky, with Geelong reportedly unsure when he will return to the club.
Things have clearly taken a turn, given coach Chris Scott spoke earlier in the season and said Stengle was closing in on a return to the field.
Speaking before Geelong's round six win over the Western Bulldogs, club head of football Andrew Mackie said they were once again taking it slow with the forward.
"I won't put a time to that. We're just taking the time to make sure all of us and the main thing is Tyson that we're all in really good shape," Mackie told AFL Nation.
A Channel Seven report on Tuesday night suggested the AFL needed to tick off Stengle's return to training and playing, due to their medical wellbeing models, which are kept very quiet.
However, Mackie seemed to suggest otherwise in the same interview.
"No (the AFL isn't determining when he can return), we will just keep talking about that internally. I get the interest in Tyson, but we'll just make sure we keep doing what we need to, working really closely with everyone involved," he said.
Stengle was rushed to hospital in July 2024 after being carried out of a Victorian night club at 2.30am in what club captain Patrick Dangerfield later described as an "error in judgement".
Wide World of Sports contacted Geelong for comment on the situation.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.