Tyson Stengle will line up for Geelong on Saturday afternoon against Adelaide, despite last weekend’s scary nightclub incident, which saw the star forward hospitalised in a serious condition.
The 25-year-old was found unconscious at Bloom nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning and rushed to University Hospital Geelong, where he stayed for several hours.
Stengle was back at the club training on Monday, and coach Chris Scott said he’s recovered well and is expecting a strong performance from the forward.
“He seems very good to me; he trained very well this week,” Scott said.
“It’s hard for me to completely be across how he’s feeling from a health perspective, and that’s why, as a coach, I need to have a lot of faith in our medical staff.
“They’re supremely confident he’s in good shape.
“He’s certainly trained well and moved well, and seems well enough in himself, he’s excited to go out and play well which is what we expect.”
Geelong skipper Paddy Dangerfieldefendedof Stengle earlier this week, saying the club ‘treat our players like adults.’
Scott was also defensive of his star forward on Friday, saying the club wouldn’t take any action against him.
“I don’t believe that’s the culture that we’re trying to build here,” he said.
“We don’t treat them like school kids.
“If anything, we work for (the players); we’re here to try and create an environment where our players can thrive.
“It’s not an authoritarian regime where the coaches warn that, ‘If you behave badly, you’ll get turfed out’.
“I don’t think (players) need to be reminded that this is a competition, and if you don’t perform or if there’s a pattern of behaviour, there will be consequences.
“To isolate it to this situation with Tyson, I think, would be unfair.”
The Cats have made three changes for the clash against the Crows, welcoming back ruckman Rhys Stanley for his first match since Round 13.
Fellow veterans Tom Atkins and Zach Touhy return to the side, with Mitch Duncan, Ted Clohesy and Gary Rohan coming out.
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