Jake Stringer shapes as important cog in Western Bulldogs' plans

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Jake Stringer shapes as important cog in Western Bulldogs' plans

Jon Pierik
Published: February 17, 2015 - 7:20PM

While the public focus on the Western Bulldogs' forward line has largely been on Tom Boyd through the off-season, there is another marking target who the Dogs hope can create trouble.

Jake Stringer booted 26 goals last season, including bags of four or more on five occasions, in just his second senior campaign. He was dropped to the VFL mid-year but, when he returned, the power and speed of the 2012 fifth-overall selection were difficult for opponents to match up on.

Coach Luke Beveridge said Stringer, having trained well through the pre-season, had an important role to play as the Dogs attempt to build on the seven wins of last season.

"He is a powerful young fella. He is really an important part of our ingredients. To help him play well up forward, we need to make sure we mix it up well for him," he said.

As Hawthorn's defensive coach last season, Beveridge remembers being impressed with Stringer's versatility when he was used as a loose man in defensive 50 when the teams met in round 19 in Launceston.

"They would throw him behind the ball last year at times, even against Hawthorn. Six or seven minutes into the first quarter, the Hawks had kicked three or four goals and straight away Stringer went behind the ball, which isn't really his go, but he was asked to do that and he can do it," Beveridge said.

"We will be focusing more on his forward play and possibly some time in the midfield."

The Dogs will open their NAB Challenge against Richmond at the Whitten Oval on February 28, with Beveridge still to ascertain who will be his frontline big men.

"There is Tom [Boyd], Will [Minson], Tom Campbell, Ayce [Cordy], Jack Redpath, Jake Stringer - you can't play them all. They are all having pretty good pre-seasons," Beveridge said.

"But we need to give them opportunities to perform against genuine opposition and see how they work together. We think our forward line should be quite productive, so it's not just the individual. They need to play well in that system."

Cordy, a father-son selection in 2008 but with only 20 senior matches to his credit, is pushing Minson for the No.1 ruck role.

The Dogs will hope Beveridge's new system will generate more goals, as they averaged 81.1 points per game last season – 13th in the league.

Another concern was inside the defensive 50, with the Dogs undersized, although the defenders weren't helped by poor foot skills through the midfield.

One focus of the pre-season will be to determine who joins vice-captain Jordan Roughead in a key defensive post, easing the responsibility on veteran Dale Morris.

"We need some support. We need to play another big. We'll do some different things. Bottom line is we need someone to support Roughie," Beveridge said.

"A couple of boys have good pre-seasons in Michael Talia and Fletcher Roberts. Fletcher Roberts has had a couple of interruptions on the track but he has done the work.

"He has had some shoulder surgery but he is a good young player, and Joel Hamling came over from Geelong. Between those three, we need one or two of them to step up.

"I don't really want Dale to be playing on key forwards. If that is happening, it's not because we want it to. It's because we haven't got anyone available to play a key defensive post. We need them to step up."

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-new...17-13gwq7.html

[1eyedog]

Aside from Libba, Stringer is probably the most important cog in our system.

I'm not sure how Ayce is pushing Will for the no. 1 ruck spot when he hasn't played one standout game of AFL footy in the ruck. The preseason prepares you as much as possible for round 1 but it's a blank canvas when 4 points are up for grabs and Ayce has shown not much when exposed to the coal face. Bit of a slap in the face for Will.

[westdog54]

When you consider that Jake was played in defence for the first half of the season, and then dropped to the VFL mid-way through the year, that 26 goal haul all of a sudden sounds a heck of a lot more impressive.

If he plays forward all year he will be our leading goalkicker. I have no doubt of that.

[Greystache]

Aside from Libba, Stringer is probably the most important cog in our system.

I'm not sure how Ayce is pushing Will for the no. 1 ruck spot when he hasn't played one standout game of AFL footy in the ruck. The preseason prepares you as much as possible for round 1 but it's a blank canvas when 4 points are up for grabs and Ayce has shown not much when exposed to the coal face. Bit of a slap in the face for Will.

I think Ayce is just the token name they're throwing out there as an alternative. Campbell had shoulder surgery over the summer, and when I've seen him at training, he doesn't look ready to be competing for a spot with Minson for round one. Maybe Beveridge is concerned Minson sees only Cordy as his competition and knows he can coast into round one and he is trying to keep him on edge.

I saw some match practice situations and Cordy looks like the work experience kid helping make up the numbers, I doubt Beveridge really views him as a genuine alternative.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

When I went to training last year, Will impressed me as one of the hardest trainers in that he has a huge frame but he seemed to really push himself in every activity. But I suppose everyone can do with some motivation from competition, even projected competition.
Stringer seems a leader and hopefully the boys can bond with him and get some synergy going with his capabilities; back him, feed him and feed off him.

[F'scary]

Spare Minson the NAB Cup fixtures and give the Ayce-in-the-Pack 3 in row as first ruck.

[KT31]

Spare Minson the NAB Cup fixtures and give the Ayce-in-the-Pack 3 in row as first ruck.

Agree, why not give both Campbell and Ayce the NAB cup games and see if they are worth anymore investment.

[jeemak]

Spare Minson the NAB Cup fixtures and give the Ayce-in-the-Pack 3 in row as first ruck.

Agree, why not give both Campbell and Ayce the NAB cup games and see if they are worth anymore investment.

The first game needs to be filled with players who have shown consistent effort across the preseason and are 100% fit and ready to go. If this means all of Minson, Campbell and Cordy can fit into an extended squad then they should play.

If in the second game Minson can be rested and some players who were under done for the first game are a little closer then you consider playing them in a mixed rotation to get them going a bit, but once again, mostly you should be playing players that performed well in game one on the back of solid work across the preseason.

In the final AFL sanctioned game, if some obvious but slightly underdone throughout the preseason players who should be forming part of the first team are ready to go then they play. This is the game where the game plan and the players to fulfill it need to be put together for a decent run against decent competition.

The last game prior to the season proper should be as close to your round one side as possible.

I guess what I'm saying is there's no room to just play Ayce and Tom and leave Minson out for any significant portion of the preseason. You can get away with that sort of thing a little bit in the first one or two games, but when it gets closer to the season proper you need to put your best foot forward and leave little up to chance.

[jeemak]

Anyway, on topic - Stringer will have another season where doing the basics well and consistently will get him the best results. This means kicking goals he should kick at a higher rate from set shots, taking the marks he should take and generally working as hard as he possibly can two ways at all times.

If he does all of these things then his natural flair and other-worldly attributes will come to the fore more often. It's a simple equation for Jake. Higher work rate across more situations will lead to greater opportunities to impose himself on the game. His natural talent which is clearly at a level higher than most will hold him good stead if he takes care of this.

[Remi Moses]

Let's just hope Jakes swagger isn't lost in the modern football world.
Defensive side and fitness for Jake .

[jeemak]

Let's just hope Jakes swagger isn't lost in the modern football world.
Defensive side and fitness for Jake .

I guess what I was trying to say Rem, is that if he gets the basics to a level where they're second nature he'll have more opportunities to show off the talents he possesses above other players.

Steve Johnson always had the freakish talent, but he only became an elite player when he learned how to work his arse off consistently. It's funny, when he's injured or out of form he looks his worst because he tries to rely on his freakish talent more so than he'd normally have to, and at the top level if you don't start as close to par as possible from a fitness and application perspective your freakish talent has very little impact.

[Remi Moses]

Terrific analogy with Steve Johnson. I could see this bloke taking the comp by storm

[1eyedog]

I guess what I was trying to say Rem, is that if he gets the basics to a level where they're second nature he'll have more opportunities to show off the talents he possesses above other players.

Steve Johnson always had the freakish talent, but he only became an elite player when he learned how to work his arse off consistently. It's funny, when he's injured or out of form he looks his worst because he tries to rely on his freakish talent more so than he'd normally have to, and at the top level if you don't start as close to par as possible from a fitness and application perspective your freakish talent has very little impact.

Good post. See Jarrad Grant also.

[westdog54]

For anyone who likes a bet, Jake is paying $3.50 to win our goalkicking and $101 for the Coleman.

[LostDoggy]

The thing that strikes me the most about Jake is that he doesn't mind being the focus. Where other players (such as Jones) struggle under the burden of expectation and focus, Jake seems to revel in it. He's much like Carey or Buddy in that he wants nothing more than to be the big guy kicking the big goal in the big game. I've heard a lot of criticism towards Macca for playing him in defence, but I think it helped him immensely in keeping his head down and maturing. A bloke who can tear the opposition a new one whilst remaining totally team-focused quite easily becomes your most important player.

I'm bloody excited!

Spare Minson the NAB Cup fixtures and give the Ayce-in-the-Pack 3 in row as first ruck.

I don't agree with this approach at all. We have had massive wholesale changes to our midfield and we need to be winning as many centre bounce contests as possible to give our midfield the most game-time preparation possible before Round 1. Any other year you'd consider it but in 2015 we need to hit the ground running, because we're going to cop some hidings this year otherwise.

With such a young list now in terms of games played, I am certain both Tom and Ayce will get plenty of chances later in the year when we drop off the pack.

For anyone who likes a bet, Jake is paying $3.50 to win our goalkicking and $101 for the Coleman.

With an expected increased focus on Libba due to Pig Shooter's departure, do you agree that Stringer is a good chance for the B&F this year?