Everytime the ball was kicked to this guy yesterday he either leveled the contest and moved the ball onto a teammate or win the contest and made a goal happen.
Was our most dangerous player along with Tippa.
Thought he had done something bad when he came off and punched the bench (he was probably still in pain after he came back on) so I’m hoping that he is alright.
He threatened to win that game for us. Just didn’t get the ball to him often enough and on a couple of occasions got ignored when in good positions. That goal in the 2nd from 50 hard up against the boundary. That’s why we got him. Don’t pass it off again Jakey, just drill it!
Sack the coach and play Francis in every position I say!
CD player ratings had him 3rd bog. Not bad for a fat ■■■■■■■ who missed half a quarter.
Stringer is tops
He is tops. I love him. He’s a stone cold gun and I’m rapt we got him at Essendon.
All I’ve been saying is imagine how good he could be if he was in better nick.
It’s funny how the dogs always reverted to him being a ‘makeshift tall,’ which wasn’t gonna happen with us. (Pfft… Did he ever ruck at the Bulldogs?)
It’s not surprising though, he does ‘play tall’ so damn well for a guy his size. He actually competes ok in the ruck, all things considered.
But in an ideal world, we’d be playing him differently.
I still can’t help thinking that at some stage, Stringer, Daniher and Orazio are all gonna turn it on at the same time, and hopefully the rest of the side is ready to take advantage of that when it happens.
Now THAT will be a sight to behold!
Anyone got a Herald Sun subscription and can post the new article up about Stringer?
DYSON Heppell says he is desperate to be Essendon’s next premiership captain, adamant he grew as a leader through the club’s horrific early-season form.
And Heppell backed in John Worsfold’s aggressive player acquisition strategy despite the club denying that Brisbane’s Dayne Beams was a trade target.
The second-year captain drew heavy criticism in Essendon’s 2-6 start to the season as a team seemingly stacked with talent instead slumped from finals contention.
But he said staying calm and not going away from what saw him appointed helped him through one of the toughest periods of his leadership.
Heppell lauded the emergence of midfielder Kyle Langford and paid tribute to the new-found leadership of Jake Stringer, who has transformed his reputation after his disastrous exodus from the Western Bulldogs.
Teaming up for a photo with 1965 premiership captain Ken Fraser this week, he said he would love to hold up the premiership cup for a side that hasn’t won a final since 2004.
“Absolutely, that is what you strive for, being a premiership player and to be the captain of a premiership side would be something very special,” he told the Herald Sun .
“And I think what we are building at the club at the moment, we are striving towards that and we have made some great inroads this year and hopefully established a culture which will be long-lasting.
“Our trademark has been super. It has come down to the character of the players and it makes is easier to build a strong culture and hold each other to account and to our values.
“It’s been a really enjoyable year from that point of view and it’s been really simple to lead.”
Former bad boy Stringer came to the club in a wave of controversy, with John Worsfold keen to turn him into an inside midfielder.
With 27 goals in 17 games, he has also found a make an impact play 29 per cent of his time in the midfield with underrated results.
He has attended 129 centre bounces — seventh at Essendon — and the club has won 55 per cent of centre bounces he attends — the most of any player at the Bombers.
He has career highs in clearances (2.4 per game), disposals, contested possessions and marks.
“He has been super, Jakey, from the moment he came to the club he was willing to work really hard,’’ Heppell said.
“He smashed himself in his first pre-season here and brought a real element of leadership that not a lot of us knew he had.
“In meetings he is really happy to express his opinions and Jake is one that is more than happy to give that real direct feedback. He has been super.”
Essendon denied reports on Channel Seven that Brisbane’s Beams was in their trade sights, saying they were not interested in his services.
But Heppell said he would back in the club’s list management to again go for senior players after the success in recruiting Devon Smith, Adam Saad and Stringer.
“I think if those players are available there is no reason why we shouldn’t go after them,’’ he said.
“If there are gaps they think we need to fill, go and get the best players you can to go and fill those spots.”
When the critics came — some even suggesting Heppell cut off his beard to focus more on football — he said he was determined not to change into the kind of leader he had never been before.
“You have a bit of a laugh about that stuff. There is a bit of outside noise but you focus on people you trust and the opinions you want to listen to are inside the four walls of the club.
“I thought I was quiet level-headed through that period and didn’t get too caught up in anything else that was outside.
“I think my leadership really grew in that period.”
| AVERAGE | RATING | |
|---|---|---|
| Disposals | 15.1 | Above average |
| Contested possessions | 8.2 | Elite |
| Marks | 3.6 | Above average |
| Marks inside 50 | 1.6 | Elite |
| Ground ball gets inside 50 | 1.9 | Above average |
| Goals | 1.6 | Above average |
| Score involvements | 6.1 | Above average |
Happy with that
How many, if any, steps are there between “above average” and “elite”?
None - elite is top 10%, above average is next but I don’t know the range.
Edit - above average is top 35%, excluding top 10%.
Apparently Jake spends one third of his time playing as a MID. Not to put too fine a point on it, he is now spending nearly one quarter of his game time playing as a RUCKMAN.
Heppel has the corporate speak down pat
If he didn’t have the good onya gois accent then he would be ■■■■■■ boring to listen to
NOTE TO COACHES: When Stringer plays as a ruckman at centre bounces , give the bloke a shin guard. Please.
Note that the article was written by More Mayo, so it may not actually reflect true events…
He needs to go away in the off season to an island, put up a picture of Dusty wearing the Brownlow, drop 4-5 kg, do 100 mtr and 400 mtr sprints continuously, get super fit and improve endurance and convert that lion on his chest into a bomber and grow a beard then come back and be the match winner he should be!
Love his tackle in the first quarter which lead to a tippa goal. Absolutely drove that saints ■■■■■■■ into the ground and let him know about it. He was playing angry and I like it
Was ■■■■■■ off at Saad. Could tell he just wanted to take the next ■■■■ out that he had his hands on