The AFL has cleared troubled Geelong forward Tyson Stengle to return to play.
Under the AFL’s medical model, Stengle was not allowed to take the field for the Cats at any level as he battled a number of off-field issues.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Stengle cleared to play as Hill returns to training
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As recently as April, the 2022 All-Australian’s career hung in the balance after he cut off all ties with his management and had little contact with anyone at Geelong.
To that point, he had spent much of the previous six months in Adelaide with a young daughter and his future was at a crossroads.
He then emerged for the first time in the Geelong rooms after the Cats’ Round 7 loss to Port Adelaide as he continued to work through his complex personal situation.
Since then, the premiership goalkicker has returned to Victoria and resumed training with the Cats, who are now hopeful he can play VFL as early as next week.
“I think the key issue here will be the conditioning of Tyson Stengle; is he fit enough to perform in a VFL match to avoid any soft tissue injuries?” Mitch Cleary said on Wednesday night’s edition of The Agenda Setters.
“Don’t forget, he had an interrupted pre-season, he came back, he went away again. So this has been an interrupted build-up for Tyson. They are going to want to make sure that when he does return, he’s bullet-proof in terms of his body.”
Nick Riewoldt said if ever there was a club who could navigate a complex situation like Stengle’s, it’s Geelong.
“Geelong have been the masters of managing players like this, and you are afforded that luxury when you have the record that Geelong do,” he said.
“You bank wins and there’s an important aspect of getting players cherry-ripe for finals. We’ve seen them do it with Dangerfield.
“So, that is good news. He makes them better. They just want him to come in and then stay in.”
At Collingwood, a similar narrative is unfolding at the time.
The Magpies’ 2023 Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill, who, like Stengle, has also had significant time away from the club in recent months, is finally eyeing a return to play.
Hill appeared close to a return early last month before taking another period of leave, but re-emerged back at training on Wednesday.
“Great to see him back at training today. He was given a three-week leave of absence after the birth of his third child,” Cleary said.
“Collingwood’s been incredibly accommodating around Bobby Hill, but I understand there were conversations last week held between Bobby and key figures at the Collingwood footy club that Bobby essentially interpreted it as, ‘I need to get back and I’m running out of time’.
“Great to see him back today because if that didn’t occur, I think there would have been conversations to be had in future weeks around his contract.”
Cleary stopped short of calling it “an ultimatum” given to him by Collingwood, “But I think Bobby got the sense that, ‘If I don’t get back in the short-term, I’m running out of time to have an impact in season 2026’,” he said.
Riewoldt added: “He definitely makes them better. They’d be desperate for him to come back into a sputtering forward line.
“He’s banked a lot of credits and he would have with his teammates through his on-field performance.
“Would they be reaching a point now where there’s a level of frustration? There have been a lot of false starts here.”
Tom Morris: “Yeah, for sure. And there has been at Geelong as well with Tyson Stengle, there was last year with Jamara Ugle-Hagan, there was at Melbourne with Clayton Oliver as well.
“There’s no doubt players want Bobby Hill back in the team, but they’ve been frustrated because there’s a belief that he’s been a little bit unreliable across the journey, which I don’t think is too controversial to say.”
Cleary: “You say some players want him back. — there are also some players that want to see a level of trust built up still with Bobby Hill.
“Three weeks away for Bobby Hill from the footy club. He was just building up his fitness before he took this latest leave. So I think that’s going to reset now. He’s going to have to go again for a month in the VFL before he puts his name up for AFL selection.”