Tyson Stengle will be remembered as one of the AFL’s great resurrection tales, regardless of the 2022 Grand Final result after turning his life around in remarkable fashion.
Stengle’s AFL career was all but over 18 months ago, after being delisted by the Crows for a series of off-field incidents.
But rather than be lost the game, like so many before him, Stengle returned to his original club – Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL and went to work; first on himself, and then for the club in their 2021 grand final where he kicked three goals in the victory.
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People at the Eagles ensured Stengle had the support he needed, from a stable job to helping drive him around, given the loss of his licence was part of the penalty for drink driving.
Recruiters always knew there was something special about Stengle – irrespective of his remarkable football pedigree as nephew of Swans great Michael O’Loughlin and relative of Blues and Crows star Eddie Betts and ex-Saint Terry Milera.
But it was the move to Geelong that changed Stengle’s fortunes, and he’s now an All Australian at just 23 years of age – and is helping steer the Cats towards their first premiership in more than a decade.
Reunited once again with “big brother” Betts after their time together at Adelaide, Stengle has shown he belongs on the big stage in 2022.
And his first AFL premiership could just be the icing on the cake for Stengle in a stunning season for his third club.
THE EARLY CAREER
Tyson Stengle’s tough start to life is well-documented, as a ward of the state before being raised by his grandparents. He was a member of Port Adelaide’s Aboriginal AFL Academy as a young footballer before his rise for SANFL team Woodville-West Torrens.
And he put recruiters on notice quickly with a 49-goal season in the under 18s back in 2015.
Stengle continued to impress when he ranked second for all small forwards at the National Under 18 championships where he represented South Australia.
He did enough to convince Richmond he deserved a chance, and with pick six in the 2017 Rookie Draft, they snapped him up with high hopes he could join the likes of Daniel Rioli and Shane Edwards up forward.
The club was impressed by Stengle’s ability “to win his own ball” and “stand up in the tackle”.
But with the Tigers in a premiership window, and the most dominant side of the competition, chances were hard to come by for Stengle, despite his performances in the VFL.
In a remarkable homecoming, Stengle was given his AFL debut at Adelaide Oval against Port Adelaide and impressed.
He was presented a two-year contract extension by the Tigers, but ultimately after being limited to just two games in his two years at the club, Stengle opted for a fresh start back home in South Australia at the end of 2018.
THE TRADE TO ADELAIDE
The Crows were rapt to get Stengle back to SA for a late draft selection (pick 68) and were excited by what the forward could bring to the club at just 19 years of age.
Together with Eddie Betts, it was hoped Stengle could become a long-term option for the club’s attack.
“Young Tyson has probably lacked a bit of opportunity over the last few years given the strength of Richmond’s list and their smalls,” Crows list manager Justin Reid said at the time of the deal back in October 2018.
“Tyson adds a bit of speed and goal sense for us and with Eddie [Betts] getting a little bit older, it’s great to have a South Australian who wants to come home and be part of the Adelaide Football Club.
“We look forward to him joining us for the start of pre-season training.”
Stengle moved in with Betts, his wife Anna and their young family while living in Adelaide, and the group formed a tight bond in 2019 – with Betts even saying he considers Stengle like one of the kids.
But trouble was already brewing.
Betts and Stengle were able to play just one season together, as Betts returned to Carlton in a massive end of season trade – 18 months after the infamous 2018 pre-season camp he’s bravely spoken about in recent times.
THE DRAMA
Without Betts and his family as his biggest supporters, Stengle’s career started to slide.
After two games for the Crows in his first season at the club, he managed a further 12 in a 2020 season complicated by two off-field mistakes.
Stengle was first stopped by police in April 2020 while drink driving, where he recorded a blood alcohol reading of more than double the legal limit.
His lawyer later told the court Stengle had been drinking at a cousin’s house before opting to get behind the wheel of an unregistered car all while his licence was suspended.
The Crows banned Stengle for four matches as result of the incident.
The small forward then received a second four-game ban by the club after he and teammate Brad Crouch were caught with an illicit substance, which was believed to be cocaine, in Adelaide’s CBD in October 2020.
The pair were stopped by police and searched. While they were not charged criminally, they both recorded a first strike under the AFL’s illicit drugs policy and were ordered to attend drug and alcohol counselling by the Crows.
Ultimately, Stengle never served out the second four-game ban as his contract was torn up just weeks later.
The third strike, reported at the time by The Age as images allegedly showing Stengle next to what appeared to be an illicit substance, proved the ultimate deal breaker for Adelaide.
Just days out from Christmas, Stengle was stood down from all club duties effective immediately and was later delisted in March 2021.
Betts has revealed his guilt over Stengle’s “bad choices” that landed him in an Adelaide court.
“I felt really bad because he lived there with me and my wife (Anna) and we were pretty hard on him and kept him on the straight and narrow,” he said.
“When we left, all this stuff started happening, not saying it’s because we left but it was tough seeing that from Melbourne.”
THE CAREER CHANGER
Standing outside his October 2020 court appearance, Stengle pledged to do better. He promised he would learn from his mistakes to “make better decisions”.
“This has been a tough year for me and I deeply apologise to those hurt by my poor decisions,” Stengle said.
But they weren’t just words – Stengle was committed to improving himself.
And after being delisted by the Crows, Stengle simply packed himself up and returned to a happy hunting ground – the Woodville-West Torrens.
“In my mind, I was always pretty confident with my ability of playing footy,” he told AAP.
“It was just whether I could sort the off-field stuff out and whether I could get fit enough to come back and play at the level.”
Woodville-West Torrens coach Jade Sheedy spoke about the impact the club had on Stengle in helping him get back on track.
“Tyson needed help,” he told SEN.
“I think we all just threw our arms around him and made sure that he was really stable off-field. He had a 9-4 job that he could go to and keep his mind busy … I think it was about routine for Tyson.
“He didn’t have his licence or anything but there were lots of people at the footy club that were taking him to appointments and taking him places.
“It was really a big effort by the footy club to be able to do all that. He repaid the faith with having an outstanding year.”
Even being overlooked in the 2021 Mid-Season Draft didn’t dampen Stengle’s determination to make it back onto an AFL list.
And his commitment to the cause saw Cats list boss Stephen Wells take notice, and the rest is history as they say.
Despite Essendon and Collingwood reportedly being two clubs who expressed interest, Stengle said it was a “no-brainer” to join Geelong after Betts signed on as a development coach.
Betts and development coach Shaun Grigg put the work in with Stengle to get him to make the move to the Cattery.
“Me and my partner Anna do a lot – he’s like our other son. We’ve got five kids – he’s our sixth kid,” Betts said on Best on Ground.
“Once I signed with Geelong, the culture that I’d heard about over the years and got to witness it first-hand … (I thought) this would be the perfect spot for him. He’ll just blossom in this environment.
“Down there they just allow him to play footy.
“He just plays on instinct.”
THE NOW …
The footy world is Tyson Stengle’s oyster as he’s found his feet after a tough few years.
He set new lofty heights in 2022, becoming the first player to be delisted and then named an All Australian.
He’s found a home in a forward line complete with key big men Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Hawkins.
And he’s found a home in Geelong, back with the Betts family and close to the footy club.
The stability that he craved in Adelaide is there with the Cats, as he’s slotted seamlessly into a club that’s been ready to help him from the get-go.
“Tyson’s a great story – I’m really happy for him,” coach Chris Scott said last week.
“It certainly helped having Eddie (Betts) there – that was all sort of part of the process. Shaun Grigg played a big part as well – (Stengle) knew him from his time at Richmond.
“It’s one thing to say: ‘Look, I think this could work’ and it’s another thing to put the people around him that we follow through and we can say hand on heart: ‘If you come in to our club, the football might not work out but you’ll be better for it’.
“The credit should go to Tyson, he’s just been outstanding.”
Stengle still has another season to run on this Cats deal, with the club likely to move quickly to lock him away from rivals for years to come.
