[2] The beginning of his final junior year saw him awarded a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) as part of the AIS-AFL Academy in the 2013 level two intake and he travelled to Europe for two weeks in April 2014 with a thirty-one man squad.

[19] He played eleven matches in his debut season[20] and was praised by Melbourne football operations manager, Josh Mahoney, as someone who "adapted really quickly to the demands of being an AFL player.

[25] He was omitted the next week for the match against Richmond at the Melbourne Cricket Ground,[26] and returned for the seventy-three point win against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium in round seven.

[28][29] The match against Gold Coast saw him earn praise from then-Melbourne coach, Paul Roos, who said his game was "fantastic",[30] and Herald Sun chief of football writer, Mark Robinson, who commended his ball use and decision making.

[33] Coming off the 2017 pre-season, in which he had "taken great strides, adding bulk to his frame and improving his ability to win contested footy" according to AFL Media journalist, Ben Guthrie,[34] Stretch played the opening five matches of the AFL season before he was dropped for the round six match against Essendon at Etihad Stadium.

[35] He spent nine weeks in the VFL before returning in the three point win against West Coast at Domain Stadium in round fourteen.