There are serious fears for the playing future of Geelong small forward Tyson Stengle, who has “cut off all ties” with his management, including Eddie Betts’ wife, Anna Scullie.

Gun Agenda Setters journalists Caroline Wilson and Tom Morris have revealed that Stengle’s career is in crisis despite the fact he’s contracted to the end of 2029 on roughly about $750,000 a year.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Tyson Stengle’s career in crisis at Geelong

“(His future) is not looking good at the moment,” Wilson said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters.

“Geelong have only had sporadic contact with Tyson Stengle in recent weeks since he travelled to Adelaide at the start of Gather Round.

“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.

“He’s cut off all ties with his management, including, obviously, Eddie Betts’ wife, Anna. He’s cut off all ties with Indigenous leaders and very few people at Geelong have any contact with him at all.

“The sad thing about this is that some weeks ago, Geelong were keen to play Tyson ... there was hope about four weeks ago that he might come back and play VFL, which was where Geelong players and footy department bosses felt that this might be the start of his rehabilitation and recovery.

“But this was thwarted under the AFL’s rules.”

Morris explained that the AFL was essentially not allowing Stengle, 27, to play football because of the league’s “medical model”.

“And there’s serious implications here for Geelong. There’s implications for Tyson Stengle and implications for his contract as well.

“So he’s contracted to the end of 2029 on roughly about $750,000 a year. Now, that’s a serious contract to not be playing any football. It’s dangerously similar to Jamarra Ugle-Hagan last year who didn’t play.”

AFL expert Kane Cornes added: “He’s not reporting to training. Geelong are having trouble finding him at the moment or certainly getting him to report. Is he still getting that full wage?”

Morris said he Stengle was “getting every cent because that’s part of the deal”.

“I’m not sure there’s negotiations behind the scenes (about the contract) but his career’s at the crossroads,” Morris said.

“And his career’s at the crossroads because he’s not playing. There’s no real indication as to when he’s going to play again. And he simply isn’t talking to people closest around him. And on that sort of money, that’s a big hole for Geelong.”

Wilson said Stengles’ troubles emerged last year and his “summer was a bit of a disaster”

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“So Geelong are raising questions about (the AFL’s) medical model,” Wilson said.

“I raise questions with Geelong today, as the AFL has over the past year, about the fact that every club has a mandated Indigenous liaison or PDM, Player Development Manager. They must work three days a week. Geelong has Brett Goodes, who they really like and rate. He’s one day a week.

“The AFL have asked the question in the past, why is Brett Goodes not working longer hours? Why don’t they have someone working more hours at the club? Geelong say that in Tyson Stengle’s case, that he’s a closer development with Mark Worthington, another PDM at the club.

“But I still ask the question, and this is a league-wide problem, why some clubs aren’t adhering to the rules, particularly Geelong ...”

Geelong insist that Stengle has a strong relationship with Worthington, and have also explained that Goodes, who is also a fireman, doesn’t want to work more than one day a week.

“So I accept that, but I do question why the AFL put these rules in and (and don’t enforce them),” Wilso said.

She said the Western Bulldogs lost their Indigenous liaison officer or PDM last December and still hadn’t found a replacement and Hawthorn recently lost theirs to the AFL.

Morris said it was difficult for the clubs to find enough specialist people who were equipped to handle such delicate and complex roles.

Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie said on Friday that he would not put a timeline on Stengle’s return.

“We’re just taking the time to make sure that all of us, and the main person of that is Tyson, that we’re all in really good shape, and hard to put a time frame on that one,” Mackie said on AFL Nation.

Morris quizzed Mackie if they were waiting for the AFL’s approval to allow Stengle to play, or if it was up to the club.

“No, we’ll just keep talking about that internally,” was Makie’s response.

Morris said once a player goes into the AFL’s medical model, it was then an AFL decision when he could return to play.

“So there’s not much the club can do other than argue their case,” Morris said

Wilson said Stengle had gone through a number of “health hoops” that could not be discussed because they were confidential.

“I think he was starting to progress about four weeks ago, and then things went a bit pear shaped again ... that is my understanding,” she said.

“And there is a level of frustration at Geelong that maybe this could have been averted.”