Geelong Cats coach Chris Scott outlines club’s stance on absent forward Tyson Stengle
Geelong coach Chris Scott has revealed there is “a limit” to the support Geelong can offer away forward Tyson Stengle as he battles to restart his AFL career.
Stengle kicked four goals in his only VFL game this season on June 13 but did not fly to Queensland to play against Southport the following week.
The Cats have been patient as the 27-year-old struggles to join the program this season, but are also mindful of the obligations he has under his current contract, which runs until the end of 2029.
He has not played a senior match since last year’s grand final and has taken a leave of absence from the pre-season programme.
Scott, a strong supporter of Stengle, spoke more fully to reporters on Monday about the club’s position on the premiership forward, who has scored 160 goals in 93 games for the Cats.
“I have great admiration for players who can endure the ups and downs as well as they do,” Scott said.
“It’s a bit of a surprise to me that there aren’t more players saying, ‘Look, I’m finding this very difficult right now.’
“That’s how Tyson feels about his football life at the moment; everything is a bit difficult for him.
“There are limits to our support for this, because we think: ‘Hey man, we empathize with you; this is a tough game.’ But there are limits to where our empathy can take us, because we’re not as much of a charity as we’d like to be.”
Scott said it was out of his hands to make any decisions about when Stengle would start the next game because the striker is nowhere near senior selection in 2026.
He also stressed that the club would continue to support Stengle in any way it could, but said the club’s best interests and ability to compete would be the top concern in the decision-making process.
“The genuine priority we place on player welfare should not be confused with forgetting that we are also in a high-performance industry where we have high expectations of our players and staff to deliver the best performance possible,” Scott said.
Stengle made a notable return to football when he was named an All-Australian in 2022 after kicking 53 goals in his first season for the Cats. He performed consistently over the next three seasons but struggled to meet the demands of the game in 2026.
Scott also stated that Tom Stewart and Bailey Smith are likely to return for Thursday night’s game against the Brisbane Lions.
Meanwhile, the Swans will be without key forward Joel Amartey for the next 10 weeks after he suffered a partial rupture of his Achilles tendon against Brisbane, leaving him doubtful for the remainder of the season.
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