2 years ago
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If you'd told Geelong prima Tyson Stengle successful March 2021 that he'd beryllium playing successful an AFL expansive last conscionable 16 months later, he'd person scarcely believed you.
March 16, 2021 was the time Stengle had his declaration with the Adelaide Crows torn up aft a bid of off-field incidents.
After being touted arsenic the competition's adjacent Eddie Betts, astatine conscionable 22, Stengle looked acceptable to beryllium 1 of the latest successful a agelong enactment of 'What if?' players whose immense imaginable had been wasted.
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With his AFL imagination successful tatters, Stengle turned to the nine that had helped him initially forge a way into the large leagues: the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles successful the SANFL.
Stengle had been a inferior determination earlier being drafted by Richmond successful 2017, and with Betts and his woman Anna acting arsenic Stengle's pseudo managers, the nine was much than blessed to person him back.
"We got him into the nine connected the knowing that we were getting him into a structured situation wherever helium had employment and a regular routine, which was truly the cardinal for him astatine that constituent successful clip successful his life," Eagles shot manager Dave Couzner told Wide World of Sports.
"He worked astatine the nine successful a grooming capableness successful the shot section and that was doing from match-day investigation to putting each the stats into the system. He worked heavy with Jay Sheedy, the elder coach, to bash each of that.
"It created the operation and regular for him to beryllium capable to play bully footy and that was the full intent of wherefore we did it."
Betts and his wife's relation successful Stengle's beingness is nary secret, and it's nary astonishment that Stengle has recovered his champion shot erstwhile re-united with Betts astatine Geelong this season, wherever helium has blossomed into 1 of the AFL's astir damaging crumbing forwards.
"Having Eddie astir astatine the nine is truly bully and helps maine arsenic a idiosyncratic and arsenic a footy subordinate connected the tract arsenic well," Stengle told Wide World of Sports.
"Just having that household vibe astir the nine with him determination helps maine arsenic good due to the fact that evidently I'm distant from Adelaide."
Couzner found it hard to enactment successful words conscionable however pivotal the Betts household has been successful Stengle getting his beingness backmost connected track.
"They're not lone mentors, they're astir similar parents for Tyson. They person his champion interests astatine heart," helium said.
"In my dealings with Anna, Tyson's wellbeing is ever the archetypal constituent of conversation, footy is secondary, it ever has been.
"To find radical similar that, they're rather uncommon successful society. They bash it down the scenes arsenic well, they're not determination for the accolades, they conscionable truly attraction for the person."
While Stengle is admittedly "stoked" to beryllium playing connected the biggest signifier travel Saturday, helium said the travel backmost to the apical hadn't been easy.
When asked what he'd accidental if idiosyncratic told him 12 months agone that he'd beryllium playing successful an AFL expansive final, helium said he'd "probably archer them they're kidding themselves".
"I didn't adjacent cognize if I was going to beryllium connected a database astatine this clip past year. It's beauteous astonishing to get into a expansive final," helium recalled.
"It (being sacked by Adelaide) was beauteous tough. I had to enactment astatine the footy nine I was playing at, and they gave maine a batch of help. I can't convey them enough, the Eagles footy club.
"I was conscionable striving to play bully footy and I was conscionable striving to triumph a premiership with them and we ended up doing that. That was my main absorption and the remainder I conscionable fto the remainder benignant itself out."
Couzner and the Eagles were undoubtedly thrilled to get a endowment specified arsenic Stengle done the door, but helium stressed the astir important facet of the determination astatine the clip was to get immoderate operation backmost successful the troubled youngster's life.
"We surely wanted him truthful we were a precise funny party, but our discussions with Anna and Eddie were astir however it looked for Tyson," helium said.
"What were we creating? If it was conscionable coming backmost to play footy, past that wasn't the close happening for Tyson astatine the time.
"We needed to make the civilization down him and we person a beauteous beardown civilization astatine the Woodville-West Torrens footy nine wherever helium had to travel successful and acceptable with that, and helium did that with nary issues astatine all."
Five months had elapsed betwixt Stengle being charged by the AFL for behaviour unbecoming successful October 2020 and his Crows sacking successful March 2021 and Couzner said having his shot aboriginal successful flux for truthful agelong had near Stengle "shattered" erstwhile helium arrived astatine the Eagles.
Couzner had the accidental to contiguous Stengle his Eagles guernsey anterior to the commencement of his SANFL travel past season, and says it took nary clip for the youngster to acceptable in.
"Just to spot the grin connected his face, you could spot helium felt a portion of the club," helium recalled.
"He came backmost successful and acceptable successful truly good and that's astir apt wherefore helium had the occurrence helium did that year.
"He is 1 of those guys that's precise quiescent and shy and implicit clip the much you enactment with him and the much you speech to him, the amended helium becomes.
"He is simply a idiosyncratic that relies connected spot and if helium trusts you you'll get a batch retired of him, if helium doesn't, helium tin thin to beryllium precise quiescent and withdrawn.
"He decidedly doesn't beforehand himself and that's a truly bully prime of Tyson."
After a stellar play wherever helium helped the Eagles triumph a 2nd consecutive SANFL premiership, Stengle was handed an AFL lifeline by Geelong, who by that constituent had employed nary different than Eddie Betts arsenic an assistant.
It was the cleanable match. Stengle has turned successful a play for the ages, going from the authorities leagues to the AFL's All-Australian squad successful his archetypal twelvemonth backmost aft kicking 49 goals successful 24 appearances, including 3 successful past weekend's preliminary last triumph implicit Brisbane.
"I'm not crossed each communicative successful the AFL, but it indispensable beryllium a bully 1 if it tops that one," Geelong manager Chris Scott said of Stengle's redemption story.
"That (the redemption story) wasn't a thought bubble whenever we took him. That was a multi-year process to marque definite that we could (not only) springiness him an accidental to revitalise his shot vocation ... but to get (his) beingness backmost connected track.
"That is 1 happening I look astatine with the mode our nine does things and I'm conscionable afloat of admiration for it. We've got their back.
"If it didn't enactment retired for him, we would've done everything we could to marque definite that his beingness was amended for having been astatine Geelong.
"It's bully erstwhile the shot worldly works retired ... but determination are immoderate things that Geelong radical should beryllium arrogant of that we effort not to beforehand excessively much.
"It's 1 happening to say, 'I deliberation this could work', it's different happening to enactment the radical astir him to marque definite that we travel through.
"We tin accidental manus connected bosom if you travel to our club, the shot mightiness not enactment out, but you'll beryllium amended for it.
"The recognition should spell to Tyson, let's beryllium wide connected that, he's conscionable been outstanding.
"The acquisition for maine is, you look astir the league and you spot and perceive things astir the comp and I deliberation radical unreserved to judgement mode excessively much."
As a effect of his occurrence astatine the nine and lovable personality, Stengle has turned the Woodville-West Torrens into a Geelong supporter-base.
"We couldn't beryllium immoderate much arrogant arsenic a club," Couzner said.
"I deliberation everyone astatine the Woodville-West Torrens nine is going for Geelong connected the weekend.
"We conscionable privation to spot Tyson succeed. He's a fantastic lad and he's a immense portion of our club. Even though he's implicit astatine Geelong, he's inactive a favourite lad of ours.
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"We're conscionable praying that helium gets immoderate occurrence due to the fact that helium truly does merit it. He's a kid that's enactment successful the enactment and helium deserves everything that's coming his mode if helium wins the flag.
"His talent's ever been there, it's the worldly he's had to bash disconnected the tract that makes him a prime idiosyncratic now."
Couzner admitted the nine hopes to person Stengle backmost playing 1 day, but accepted the information that that time whitethorn beryllium implicit a decennary distant if helium keeps up his existent form.
"You cognize what? We'd beryllium the archetypal ones to accidental support doing it due to the fact that we emotion watching him play," helium said.
"He's a kid that works hard astatine his trade and it's conscionable large to spot him get the opportunities."
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