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Crow Stengle fined for drink-driving

Adelaide Crows forward Tyson Stengle has been fined more than $1600 after pleading guilty to drink driving and other offences.

Oct 23, 2020, updated Oct 23, 2020
Photo: Michael Errey/InDaily

Photo: Michael Errey/InDaily

In Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday, the 22-year-old admitted to having a blood alcohol level of 0.125 when caught behind the wheel of his car in April this year.

He also admitted to driving while his licence was suspended and to driving an unregistered vehicle.

In submissions on his behalf, the court was presented with four character references, including one from AFL star Eddie Betts, and was told that while Stengle was not aware his licence had been suspended and his car left unregistered, he took full responsibility for his offending.

He has already served a six-month licence suspension, with Magistrate Ben Sale adding just one day to that term.

Mr Sale also imposed a fine of $900 on the drink driving matter, $300 for having no licence and $471 for driving unregistered.

But he noted Stengle had also been hit with penalties by his AFL club and had suffered considerable embarrassment with the media attention his offending had attracted.

Outside the court, Stengle said he wanted to “deeply apologise to those hurt by my poor decisions”.

“I want to learn from my mistakes. I know I need to make better decisions,” he said.

“This will be my focus for now, in 2021 and beyond. I owe it to my loved ones and those who support me to make decisions they can be proud of.”

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In relation to the driving offences, Stengle was previously suspended for four games by the Crows and fined $2500.

But his court appearance also came after he and fellow Crow Brad Crouch were suspended by the AFL for four games and two games respectively for being caught with illicit drugs.

The AFL found the pair guilty of “conduct unbecoming”, following an investigation into the September incident.

The Crows players will have a so-called first strike against them under the AFL’s drugs policy and will have to attend a drug and alcohol education course prior to next season.

Police caught Crouch and Stengle with an illicit drug, understood to be cocaine, in Adelaide’s central business district at 5.15am on September 28.

They didn’t charge the duo, instead referring them to counselling under a drug diversion program.

The Crows accepted the AFL sanctions and noted they didn’t “have ground to determine, nor enforce” their own penalties on the players.

“We strongly condemn this type of behaviour and Brad and Tyson have not acted in a way that reflects our values,” Adelaide head of football Adam Kelly said in a statement.

In August, Stengle signed a contract extension with the Crows until the end of the 2022 season.

-AAP

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