Tyson Stengle is again in off-field trouble at the Crows, we know he has the talent but can Adelaide persist with him?
After a second off-field incident in six months, Adelaide chief executive Andrew Fagan says Tyson Stengle must agree to live by club standards as his future at the Crows remains up in the air.
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Adelaide chief executive Andrew Fagan says Tyson Stengle has to decide “whether he wants to sign up for” and agree to live by the standards of the club as the young Crow deals with the fallout of a second off-field incident in six months.
Stengle and teammate Brad Crouch were pulled over by police in a taxi allegedly with cocaine after being spotted on live CCTV in the Adelaide city at 5am on Monday morning.
The early-morning bust comes after Stengle was caught drink driving in an unregistered car in April during the AFL’s COVID-19 shutdown.
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Stengle’s performances on the field and response to that incident did convince the Crows to give him a two-year contract extension last month, but Fagan said the 21-year-old’s future would now be discussed.
“We have to deal with both players separately, Tyson certainly showed us on field some of the reasons why we brought him to the club but off field he has had a really disappointing six months,” he said.
“He has to decide as a player whether he wants to sign up for and agree to and live to the standards of our football club and the standards we require not just of the club but him as a professional sports person.
“And he’s got to right that and separately we need to decide what that means for his future here.”
Fagan said Crouch and Stengle would be dealt with separately despite being caught together.
The Crows are expected to hand down penalties to the two in the coming days.
Adelaide head of football Adam Kelly said Stengle had undone all the good work he had built up with the Crows following the drink driving incident.
“He had shown a hell of a lot of promise throughout the season and finished the season well,” Kelly said on SEN SA.
“But we will take into account the fact he has had two indiscretions over six months when we decide what club sanctions should be enforced.”
Like Fagan, Kelly did not guarantee that Stengle would remain at the club in 2021 in the wake of this latest off-field incident.
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ANALYSIS - Stengle’s career at crossroads
When Adelaide announced Tyson Stengle would receive a two-year contract extension last month one quote from Crows list manager Justin Reid in particular stood out.
“Tyson has showed he has the talent to play at the highest level,” Reid said about the small forward.
After Monday morning’s incident Reid and the rest of the Crows heavy hitters will be seriously questioning whether the 21-year-old has the temperament or commitment to be in the AFL.
Stengle has already been banned for four-games for a drink driving incident in April, which he didn’t tell the club about for days after, and further punishment is expected to come his way once a court case into the matter is finalised.
So to be stopped by police along with Crouch and found to be in possession of an illicit substance surely puts Stengle’s career as a Crow at risk.
Last week the Crows head of football Adam Kelly said more Adelaide players would be departing the club once they found out just what list sizes for next season would be.
Stengle would have been safe given his contract status, but this latest brush with the law could significantly change things.
He responded well on the field to having to sit out four games of the season, really coming into his own in the back-half of the year when he kicked six goals in five games - including two good performances in the Crows’ wins over Hawthorn and GWS.
Those at the club were impressed by the way he looked to have responded from that April misdemeanour as he proved Reid’s words.
When Stengle did not show up in court last month on the charge, to stay in training and the club’s COVID-19 bubble so he could play games, Adelaide senior coach Matthew Nicks said the club would continue to support the young forward.
“Part of our job is to help Tyson through it,” Nicks said.
“We’re going to work through it with him, he’s a fantastic person, he made a mistake and he will learn from it.”
But on the day where Harley Bennell - who showed just how multiple unwanted incidents can ruin a promising career - retired it appears Stengle has not learnt from this earlier “mistake”.
There is no doubt Stengle will cop more punishment from the club for this incident, Kelly said on Monday a sanction “is inevitable” once the Crows leaders get all the information.
“Tyson has had a very disappointing six months and that will come into our thinking,” he said.
Stengle will be hoping he gets another chance at West Lakes, and his talent may well secure him one, but he can have no complaints if Adelaide now decides enough is enough.
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