Geelong’s Tyson Stengle was arguably the success story of the 2022 AFL season.

The small forward had dealt with a number of off-field issues earlier in his AFL career which cut short his time at both Richmond and Adelaide.

He was offered a footy lifeline of sorts when SANFL club Woodville-West Torrens picked him up for the 2021 season.

It was there that Stengle flourished, kicking 44 goals as the Eagles claimed a second straight SANFL premiership.

Stengle’s form at state league level inspired the Cats to pick him up prior to the 2022 campaign and their leap of faith paid off handsomely as the 24-year-old made the All-Australian team as his third AFL club went on to win the flag.

Despite Stengle’s prior woes, it came as no surprise to ex-Cat Dan Menzel who played alongside him at Woodville.

The duo combined for 88 goals for the Eagles in 2021 and Menzel saw first-hand what the SANFL club did for the once troubled talent.

“To come to the Eagles after what he went through and the issues he somewhat brought on himself, that’s where it shows culture and people around you are so important,” Menzel said on SEN SA Breakfast.

“The Eagles did an incredible amount of work to put him in a really good position with good networks around him.

“Then Geelong obviously does it extremely well, as well, with the culture there and having Eddie (Betts) there as a mentor.

“It just shows that if you put stability around some people they then can repay you and Tyson has definitely done that.

“There’s no surprise for me personally that he had such a good year because obviously I was right next to him the season before.

“It shows that everyone is different and some people need a strong, stable environment and he’s definitely one of them.”

Stengle is seen by many as the recruit of the year for 2022, blossoming at the elite level having previously found himself on the AFL scrapheap.

He booted 53 goals across 25 games for the Cats and finished fourth in their best and fairest in a premiership year.