Geelong coach Chris Scott says the success of Tyson Stengle has been one of this season’s magic moments, after the 23 year-old earned his maiden All-Australian blazer on Wednesday night at the AFL Awards.
The Stengle story is now well known.
Off-field issues in Adelaide led to him spending a year in exile, toiling with Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL, where he kicked 44 goals from 19 games, and catching the eye of Cats recruiters.
That led to a contract as a delisted free agent in November 2021, and from the moment he walked into GMHBA Stadium he has been repaying their faith back in spades, culminating in Wednesday’s All-Australian announcement.
It's been an extraordinary story of resilience, determination and some of the most exhilarating football you'll see, the impossible goals matched only by the relentless chase down of many an unwitting opposition ball carrier.
Speaking on the To The Final Bell podcast, Scott said Stengle’s 46 goals as a small forward and what he could potentially contribute across the upcoming finals series is only part of the story, it’s where Stengle has been able to get to in his own life that has been really special.
“Forget about his footy for a second,” he said.
“Tyson's life now, compared to 12 months ago is exponentially better and so that makes the hairs of the back of my neck stand up as much as talking about what we've got in front of us the next four weeks.”
Scott said that Stengle’s 2022 success, alongside fellow revelation Sam De Koning, is a tribute to the Geelong Football Club as a whole, and not just the coaching group.
“When you see them play well," he told co-hosts Cameron Ling and Tom Lonergan, "that's not, on Wednesday we decide we're going to give those guys a go and they happen to play well on the weekend.
“There's years of planning that goes into that stuff, and the behind the scenes work and the risk that comes with it as well.”
Stengle made an instant impression on Geelong fans when he kicked four goals in his debut as a Cat back in Round 1 against Essendon, but according to fellow 2022 All-Australian Tom Stewart, he knew very early on in the pre-season they had someone special.
“I'm not going to lie to you," he told K rock Football recently.
“I think it was the second or third session Tys made me look absolutely silly and I said, 'boys, we've got an absolute special one here'. He turned me inside out and balked me and kicked one over his head. I said, 'I'm glad he's on our team.'
“He's a special kid. He doesn't say much but we've really embraced him and the person he is and obviously, he made some mistakes in the past but he's come in and he's bought into the Geelong system, he understands how important it is for us and we love him for it.”
Stengle was one of five Cats to be named a 2022 All-Australian, along with Stewart, Mark Blicavs, Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins, who was selected captain.
