If the first half of the year was all about the sharp rise and growth of Bombers midfielder Darcy Parish, then surely the back end of the AFL season has been all about Jake Stringer catching fire.
Since Round 15 Stringer has kicked 17 goals and averaged 19.7 disposals, 3.7 tackles, 6.2 clearances and 19.5 pressure acts. His clearance work puts him in the same company as Christian Petracca, Travis Boak and Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale.
The stat-stuffing numbers are an even spread that reflects a jack-of-all-trades largely because of the various roles he’s been asked to play by Bombers coach Ben Rutten: the dangerous and instinctive goal kicker, the centre bounce clearance bull, the creator and playmaker, the forward pressure player.
Stringer, who’s been nominated for an All Australian gig, has levelled up at the right time as the Bombers embark on an unlikely finals campaign. If he goes missing, it could be curtains for his club. But if he can sustain what he’s been producing, then Essendon are every chance to beat the Bulldogs this week.
Let’s be clear here: there’s more to Essendon than just Jake Stringer. They have more contributors. They’re more cohesive. They have developed their young players quicker than expected. And this in part explains Stringer’s sharp rise to a degree. It’s not that he’s producing things on the field we didn’t know he could do. It’s just that the team is functioning so much better, which takes the stress off Stringer, meaning we’re able to really see his impact in an effective team-first environment rather than being a lone wolf in an unworkable side.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Rutten has unlocked a version of Stringer we haven’t seen before, who doesn’t need to hit the scoreboard to have value.
Case in point: The last time Stringer faced the Bulldogs in Round 21, a game the Bombers won by 13 points, he didn’t kick a score and collected 13 touches, but his blue-collar work ethic returned six tackles, six score involvements, seven clearances (five centre clearances) and 31 pressure acts.
But when Stringer does hit scores, and bags of them, the Bombers usually win, and sometimes they win big. Against the Suns he kicked 5.1 from 19 touches and the Bombers won by 68.
This makes him a destructive threat anywhere forward of centre, a player who is as damaging as Richmond’s Dustin Martin, which isn’t an easy thing to say.
There aren’t many Dustin Martin types in the AFL. Martin became the prototype of the mid-forward role. He owned it. It became his trademark: win clearances, kick goals, shape and change momentum. In 2020 Martin’s role became more evenly split between the middle and the forward line, much like Stringer’s timeshare now, and averaged 20.6 disposals and 3.7 clearances and kicked 22 goals.
Since Round 15 Stringer has more goals than Martin (39), averages more clearances (6.2) and has a similar disposal count (19.7). The impact he’s having on games is helping shape Essendon’s fortunes, much like Martin did with Richmond during their premiership years.
It hasn’t been a smooth path to now for Stringer. I can still recall a game in July last year when Essendon played Collingwood on a Friday night where Bruce McAvaney and Brian Taylor became critical of Stringer’s physique.
“He does look big, doesn’t he,” McAvaney said.
“I personally think he needs to train with the group. He definitely doesn’t have the six-pack going at the moment,” said Taylor.
Towards the end of that game Stringer flew for a contest and landed on his ankle, subsequently missing an extended period of time with syndesmosis. In 2020 he played only ten games. And through the course of his career he’s battled hamstring rips and has even drawn criticism from former Bulldogs teammate Bob Murphy for his work ethic and not buying into the daily grind.
Even entering this year there were question marks over Stringer’s durability. No-one questioned his talent. But if his body couldn’t stand up to the rigours of AFL football, most pundits started to think he’d be a dead weight and might never get to a point where we are now.
For most of this year Stringer’s consistency has improved, and he’s seeing career-best numbers: average disposals have gone from 8.9 to 16.6, score involvements have doubled and he’s on track to kick more than 40 goals. More importantly the Bombers score from 15.4 per cent of centre bounces when Stringer is there.
Unless he gets injured, it’s hard to see Stringer’s form falling away. The Bombers are built differently compared to when he arrived in 2018. He’s added depth to his game that is more than just that of a key forward, which is what he was drafted into the team for. Now there’s more talent, more depth and more even spread of scoring.
Peter Wright dropped seven goals on the Bulldogs in Round 21 as he starts to establish himself as someone who can influence games. Alec Waterman kicked four against the Pies last weekend. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has kicked 34 goals, the second-most at Essendon behind Stringer. Harrison Jones (20), Devon Smith (15), and Kyle Langford (13) have added solid value through the year.
Now when you look at Essendon, there’s far more flavour and variety in the forward line that releases a guy like Jake Stringer into other parts of the ground where he can influence and change momentum. And, as flexible as the Bombers are now in the midfield, Stringer has a licence to be a destructive X factor, and he can change the game in the space of eight minutes.
Some are wondering: can Jake Stringer perform when it counts on the big stage? The thing is, he no longer has to carry a team load. Rather, he just needs to be Jake Stringer, because the Bombers have more depth. They’re a different breed now. And if he can just be the best version of Jake Stringer – daring, dangerous, having fun – then Essendon has their best shot at breaking a horrendous finals drought.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
You're not following me. I never said those players dropped fat. I made specific reference to them becoming more agile at some expense, i.e. losing muscle mass. This is not the case for Stringer. Go read what I said again. Stringer can lose more weight. He is carrying too much fat compared to the likes of Martin, Petrarca, The Bont, etc. As a result, he'll extract extra performance, but at no loss, unlike the other three, I mentioned. Once again, read what I said. If you think he's the best player in the comp since the bye...well, I don't know what else to say, other than..he isn't. He's certainly been good in some areas according to Champion Data but that certainly doesn't mean he's the best. I'll tell you what generally does tell you who the best is...a player's contract. His is dismal compared to those other players, and for good reason. I'll take Cameron come this finals series up forward than him, despite not playing much this year. He is a lean machine. I'll take any number of players in the midfield if you want to play him there too. If you think he's a lean machine, then great. Good for you. He's not. He's too heavy. Top 20 at the moment, at best. The point to all of this is: he could be top 5. Drop the weight, and we perhaps are talking Dusty material. He won't because he's lazy.
JamesH
Roar Guru
That 'above-average, inconsistent player' is ranked number one in the competition since the bye. No matter what you think about Champion Data, that sort of achievement is incompatible with the notion of being lazy. You can't just dismiss the numbers he's putting up. Stringer has already shed weight. He's already done what you're suggesting he do. The player you're talking about is the Stringer of 12 months ago, not the one running around at the moment. There's no doubt he was a lazy player in the past but there has been plenty of commentary this season around his improved fitness and work ethic. Rutten simply doesn't let his players coast. Your contention that he his still carrying too much weight in his midriff and is too lazy is simply not borne out by the current reality. Where is this 'excess fat'? I've been watching him pretty closely this year and I've never seen him looking leaner. He's an absolute beast at the moment - big through the chest but definitely trimmed down through the waist. Go and have a look at recent images of him compared to a couple of years back. Now, does that mean he couldn't possibly be slimmer? Of course not. But you could say that about most players in the league. That doesn't mean he's going to be come a better player by losing even more weight. It's a balancing act - big enough to maintain your power, trim enough to run all day. The guys you've cited lost weight because they needed to do so to achieve that balance, and for the most part I reckon they were shedding muscle, not fat. Stringer has hit that balance beautifully in the last few months. He's covering lots of turf, wrong-footing opponents, chasing hard and shrugging tackles. The numbers aren't lying. Whether or not he can maintain the new standard he has set for himself is another matter. That will be on him.
Geebee
Roar Rookie
That's yet another reason why Walla MUST play. You don't leave the Ferrari in the garage for the big occasion, & Walla is a proven big game player on so many occasions.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
I'm not arguing whether he is elite in certain areas of his game. He certainly is and very talented. I'm arguing that he will never become a Dusty, despite the many claims made here. Being overweight has a connotation of being unhealthy. Stringer would not be overweight in this regard, and that's the point I want to make clear. However, I would be surprised if his BMI was anything close to spectacular for an elite AFL player. He is carrying too much weight in his midriff, and I'm 100% certain Essendon's high-performance team would agree with me. This is vastly different to dropping weight to gain athletic performance at the expense of strength. Tom Hawkins and Buddy Franklin are examples of players who dropped 7-10 kg off their frame to become more agile. Jack Riewoldt also dropped 3 kg off his frame when talking about this exact issue on AFL 360 many years ago. His game improved drastically as a result. Now these three examples, as mentioned, are sacrificing something to gain elsewhere. In my not so humble opinion, Stringer doesn't look like he would have to sacrifice anything, as he's carrying excess fat around the midriff. By losing it, he would sharpen up even further without much, if any, loss to his performance elsewhere. Why can't he do this? Because he's lazy. I say lazy because he gets paid a lot of money to do what he does, and he could be a lot better, which is probably one of the reasons the Dogs dumped him. He won't amount to anything more than what he is — an above-average inconsistent player in an inconsistent above-average team. Lose the weight, show some dedication to your teammates, and he might become something great. I doubt it, though. He'll rely on his talent and remain above-average, I suspect.
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Which is why they need to put a defender on him
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
If they do I’m backing them for a ten goal win.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Most people would read 'too heavy' as the same thing as 'overweight' in the context of an AFL player (I mean, they are literally synonyms) but I'm not going to split hairs. Stringer's size and strength are what make him so difficult to match up on. He breaks tackles for fun - often not with don't argues but by simply shrugging off lighter opponents. He basically threw Sidebottom off him on Sunday and then set up a goal. As for the lazy bit, you've shown zero attention to detail. You're whole argument so far is basically 'I reckon...' with nothing to back it up. Since the bye he's averaged more than 4 tackles (almost 5 if you ignore the last two low-pressure games against GC and the Pies), 11 contested possessions and 6 clearances per game. Even with his interrupted first half of the season he ranks elite for contested possession %, clearances, metres gained, goals and score involvements, and above average for disposals, contested possessions, pressure acts, tackles and goal assists. I suspect most of those would creep up to elite since the bye. He's even had 51% of his touches for the year in the defensive half of the ground. Absolutely nothing about that suggests laziness. Feel free to chime in with some substance to your claims, though.
Jman
Guest
Stringer owns Tasmania. That was his best game vs Hawthorn. He’s playing top notch footy at the minute. Could potentially get tagged soon!!
Brendon the 1st
Roar Rookie
I saw that as well, might be a bit big for Parker
Cat
Roar Guru
Which isn’t the bulldogs. It’s bottom sides, not too sides.
Brent
Guest
It looked like Luke Parker tried to stop him for a period in the Swans game but gave away about 100 frees in 2 minutes. My one eyed Swannies goggles tried to find a reason for them to be bad umpiring decisions but they all seemed legit.
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
I disagree the lid is well and truly off.
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Honestly surprised no one has tried to tag him. I guess they can’t because truck will just move him forward
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Yeah but I still think you’re being a little hard on stringer given that up to now he has largely been a key forward where the additional weight would make it easier to out body your opponent
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
I hope to see the worst of the dogs thank you very much.
Very much so. Looks fitter and playing more midfield time has given him the liberty to express himself more. I hope we see the best of the dogs and the dons this week.
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
I disagree the Essendon of old always made hard work of every single match. We might eek a win with slightly more frequency but we are beating the sides we are supposed to beat right now.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
I never said he was overweight. I said he was lazy. However, if he wants to become a high-performance beast, he needs to shed 2-3 kg. He’s too heavy (very different to being overweight) to perform at a Dusty level like many believe he can. I don’t. The boy has talent. That is a given, but he’s lazy. If he were serious about his footy, he’d shed the weight. He’s not, so he’ll be nothing more than an above-average footy player in an above-average footy team. Is that enough attention to detail for you? Let’s see how the boy goes in the finals. He’ll get torched, I suspect.
Kick to Kick
Roar Rookie
The Bombers have to get plaudits for making finals. But of 9 matches against other teams in this year’s finals they’ve lost 8. The one win was against a Dogs team in a form slump. And even then the Dogs had 60 inside fifties to 39 and were wasteful 12:12 to an accurate Essendon - 15:7. I predict a Bombers win on Sunday - but let’s not get carried away!
JamesH
Roar Guru
Calling the current version of Stringer overweight and lazy says more about your inattention than his form.