‘Not my position to settle the nerves of Geelong fans’: Scott says he can’t provide an update on Stengle

‘I genuinely don’t know’: Scott in the dark about Stengle

Scott Spits

Geelong coach Chris Scott suggested the Cats have been hamstrung by the AFL in not being able to answer questions about the immediate future of premiership small forward Tyson Stengle.

The 27-year-old last played in last year’s grand final loss to the Brisbane Lions but has played nearly 100 matches for the Cats since crossing to the club in 2022.

Asked at training on Wednesday about when Stengle would return to the Cats’ senior side, Scott gave limited information about the former Richmond and Adelaide player, suggesting some questions were better answered by the AFL.

Age columnist Caroline Wilson reported on Tuesday night that Geelong had only had “sporadic contact” with Stengle and the 109-gamer had cut off communication with his management.

“Geelong have only had sporadic contact with Tyson Stengle in recent weeks since he travelled to Adelaide at the start of Gather Round,” Wilson said on Seven’s Agenda Setters.

“There was an expectation that he might train today – I’m not sure why because he’s not even in town.

“There are Geelong leaders who hope to get in touch with Tyson this weekend.”

Seven also reported that Stengle was subject to the AFL’s medical model – including guidelines about returning to play.

Asked to clarify the situation and provide information about Stengle’s whereabouts, the Geelong coach said: “No I can’t. And, again, it’s not my role to be across those things.

“If I had good information, I probably wouldn’t tell you anyway because I’d consider it to be private, but this is one where I genuinely don’t know.”

When pressed if Geelong fans should be concerned about whether Stengle will return this year, and the uncertainty around a timeline, Scott said: “That’s the way the AFL want it to be, so we have to submit to their processes.”

Asked whether Stengle’s absence was an AFL-led decision, Scott responded: “I’m not even sure that I’m empowered to speak about that. That’s how grey these areas are, so it’s best that when I’m unsure, that I say less.

“But to answer your specific question, which I think is a fraction unfair, it’s not my position to settle the nerves of Geelong fans.

“If people want more information, they probably should direct their questions to the AFL.”

The two-time premiership coach cautioned the media about speculating with “less information” than he had.

“But again, I’d hate to sound defensive of it. I think what I’ve learnt over the years is to acknowledge the different roles that people have in these sorts of situations,” Scott said.

“So I don’t have a problem with the media speculating, but they are speculating with less information than I have, and I have less information than other people at the club have, who probably have less information than the AFL have,” Scott said.

But the Cats coach said he has “loved” what he’s seen from Stengle at training recently.

“When we see him out on the training track, we feel like, ‘OK, we’d like to get this guy into our team as soon as it’s practical’. So I don’t resile from those comments,” Scott said.

Asked specifically whether Stengle could return to his best, Scott said: “Yeah, [we’ve got] supreme confidence. We are optimists, though.”

Is this the AFL’s new $7 million man?

Hannah Kennelly

Collingwood midfielder Beau McCreery has laughed off reports linking him to a potential $7 million offer from new expansion club Tasmania Devils.

On Tuesday night, AFL.com.au reported that Tasmania had identified McCreery – who is signed with the Magpies until 2027 – as a player of interest for their inaugural list as they prepare to enter the competition in 2028, and was a target for a potential deal worth $1 million a season for seven years.

McCreery, who has played 102 games since making his debut in 2021, did the radio rounds on Wednesday morning ahead of the annual Anzac Day clash with Essendon at the MCG and laughed off questions surrounding the whopping deal, saying he was unaware of any formal offer.

The 25-year-old said Tasmania had not reached out to him with an offer during an interview on Triple M.

“I was just as rattled when you were when you heard it,” McCreery said.

“No, not personally, they haven’t [reached out]. Obviously, it’s big news to hear, but I’m still contracted to Collingwood for the next two years … so, my eyes are on the prize there and obviously … we’ve got a big game this weekend.”

In a separate radio interview on Fox, McCreery again said he didn’t know about an offer.

“I don’t know about an offer … I was about to put the phone down and my missus tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘What’s the go here?’ I’m still contracted. I love the Pies,” he said.

Later in an interview with Nova, McCreery said while he hadn’t personally heard from Tasmania, he didn’t know if his manager had received an offer.

In December, the AFL approved the Devils’ entry to the league in 2028 after controversial plans for Macquarie Point Stadium in Hobart were given the official tick of approval by Tasmania’s parliament.

McCreery’s teammate Nick Daicos – who reached his 100-game milestone last week – is also reported to be on Tasmania’s wishlist.

Demons seek answers on Petty

Danny Russell

Melbourne’s Harrison Petty is undergoing a raft of tests in a bid to explain his mysterious mid-match wobbly spell, despite the Demons already placing the defender in concussion protocols.

Melbourne have not been able to identify the exact cause of Petty’s issue after he was escorted from the MCG by medical staff in the third term of their clash against the Brisbane Lions on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a unique situation,” Melbourne coach Steven King said on Wednesday. “We’re still doing some tests with him at the moment to ensure what it could be.

“His health and wellbeing is the most important thing. We’re still not really sure exactly what’s happened, and so we’re exploring all those possibilities.

“We’ve put him in protocols at the moment because that’s the most obvious, but we’re still not 100 per cent sure that that’s the case.”

Petty copped a hit to the chin during a marking contest almost 45 minutes before he suffered blurred vision in the Demons’ defensive goal square.

He turned over a kick and immediately sank to his haunches. He then walked back to lean on the goal post before being helped by Melbourne teammates.

Petty suffered concussion against Gold Coast in June last year.

“Because of his history, we’ve put him in protocols at the moment because that’s the most obvious thing that might have happened,” King said.

“But there’s still a range of things that it could be, so we’re just making sure that that is the priority, to get to the bottom of it.”

Petty had tests on Tuesday and was expected to have more this week.

“Once we get all that information, we’ll make sure we sit down with the relevant people, the doctors, and make sure we set the right plan for Harrison,” King said.

King said he had been making his way from the coach’s box to the ground and by the time he reached the interchange bench, Petty was being walked off.

“We had six or eight teammates get to him,” King said.

“I am actually really proud of the way we handled the whole situation in terms of just making sure that his welfare was above the game that was being played.”

King said he was looking forward to being part of his first Anzac Day eve match when his eighth-placed Demons tackle the winless Richmond at the MCG on Friday night.

“I’m looking forward to representing our club and all our great service people just with the whole pre-game and the atmosphere,” he said.

“I’ve gone to a lot and watched, and now to be part of it is going to be pretty special.”

King said his Melbourne players were behind using rapper Warren G’s song Regulate as a pointer during matches.

“That’s not a bad sign to have at different times of the game,” the first-year coach said.

“It’s not something that’s an end-of-game scenario. It’s more one for the boys to probably just take stock and let the game breathe.”

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