Jake Stringer Biography

Jake Stringer will miss up to a month after suffering a hamstring injury in the Bombers' clash against the Western Bulldogs.

Jake Stringer signs a new three-year deal with Essendon to remain at the club until the end of 2024.

Stringer has kicked 29 goals from 13 games in 2021 and has been Essendon's leading goalkicker in two of his three completed years with the club.

Jake Stringer is set to miss up to three months after scans confirm an ankle syndesmosis injury sustained in Essendon's win over Collingwood.

Since the AFL imposed its suspension of the 2020 AFL season (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Jacob Townsend is among five Bombers, alongside Jake Stringer, Shaun McKernan, Jayden Laverde and Kyle Langford, to have started a work placement with Border Express, the delivery and shipping company which is a corporate partner of the club.

The players have generally been at Border Express' headquarters for night shifts beginning at 5pm and finishing at 10.30pm, gaining an insight into work away from the football field.

"For the first week after the games stopped, I was driving myself insane," Townsend said.

"They were keen to help as soon as they heard we were keen to do something with our time and to see what the real world's like as well.

"We train and play footy every day nearly so it's nice to be able to put on another hat and see what other guys do in their lives."

Jake Stringer says finally getting on top of his gambling addiction is behind his sensational return to form in the back half of 2019.

Stringer admits that gambling has plagued most of his adult life, but revealed he had beaten the addiction he battled publicly.

"It's probably hindered me for probably six or seven years," Stringer told Channel Nine.

"It's probably only been the last, sort of year that I've got control of it. I think that's starting to show in my football as well.

"I haven't been on social media for the last year and a half ... It's helped me mentally, unbelievable."

Jake Stringer is set to miss a month due to a calf strain sustained in the Bombers' loss to Collingwood.

Jake Stringer says he's used to being under scrutiny as questions get raised about his recruitment to the Bombers with each form slump the team experiences.

"It's going to happen for my whole career, so there's no point getting upset or anything. I know the work I'm putting in, so as long as long as I continue to put my head down and bum up and work hard I know the rewards will come," Stringer said.

"All the coaches were really supportive in that time in reassuring me that things will change and that as soon as the team starts going better everyone will start going better. Everyone's in it together."

Jake Stringer says he has matured and has begun to enjoy playing again.

"I feel like I'm in a good place now and I think it's starting to show on the footy field," he said.

"I'm starting to really enjoy my footy again, which is something I've probably missed over the last couple of years.

"You've got to be able to play under adversity, and there was probably a year or two where I wasn't very good at it.

"That's good learning for me that I've probably grown up a little bit and seem to be going OK at the minute."

Jake Stringer is hoping to be able to run out with his two daughters in his 100th match this week.

"Fingers crossed I can run out with them and have a very special moment with them," Stringer said.

"It means the world to me, to have your two daughters there, they're my whole world.

"To have them there, to run out with them and give them a hug and a kiss and spend some time with them would be pretty magical for me."

Essendon coach John Worsfold says the club is happy with the output of recruit Jake Stringer two games into 2018.

"I reckon we're going to see improvement week in, week out over a long period of time from Jake. He's going to do some spectacular stuff at times because that's the type of player he is," Worsfold said.

"But we want him to just play his role and do the basics consistently for us and be part of the way our team wants to play."

Matt Suckling is expecting plenty of banter when the Western Bulldogs renew acquaintances with Jake Stringer for the first time since his bitter exit from Whitten Oval.

"He's a funny man and we went to America at the end of last year, so I'm sure he'll have something smart to say on the weekend," Suckling said.

"I'm probably not the right guy to (be) lipping at him because I'm not the (biggest sledger), so I'll leave that, but it's just a bit of fun."

Essendon hopes star recruit Jake Stringer can spend half of his game time in the midfield in 2018 to offer the Bombers a big-bodied presence around the ball.

"Stringer will go through there and we believe he'll play good midfield football without maybe being a full-time midfielder," Essendon coach John Worsfold said.

"We believe if we get the pre-season into him he'll be able to play up there for potentially 50 per cent of his game time."

Bombers CEO Xavier Campbell has revealed the extent of the due diligence undertaken by the club before deciding to pursue Jake Stringer.

"You're collecting data, collecting information, and I reckon we spoke to 10 or 12 people in relation to understanding more about Jake's situation," Campbell said.

"Bottom line, you want to be comfortable that he was what he was saying he wanted to be … and he was absolutely committed to that."

Jake Stringer has hit the training track at Essendon's Tullamarine base after cutting his US holiday short.

The 23-year-old former Bulldog arrived at Essendon on Friday morning to get a jump start on his pre-season after his controversial departure from Whitten Oval.

"There's a little bit of family reasons, but also just to get a good jump on pre-season, just to make sure on day one of pre-season I'm ready to go," Stringer said of his decision to return early.

"Just making sure that I could spend enough time to get myself ready to go start of pre-season, so if that meant cutting the trip a little bit short then that's what we had to do."

Brendon Goddard says Essendon's senior leadership group was consulted before the club decided to recruit Jake Stringer.

"There's a lot of talk and conjecture about Jake Stringer and the risk the potential team may take, but the club has done its due diligence," Goddard said.

"As a leadership group, we talked about it and we believe we can get the best out of him and provide him with the help and support if he does need it, and more importantly, get the best out of him from a footy sense."

Jake Stringer is finally a Bomber after the Western Bulldogs and Essendon clinched a deal for the disgruntled forward less than 90 minutes before the end of the NAB AFL Trade Period.

After protracted talks that dragged on for nearly three weeks, the Bulldogs agreed to send the contracted Stringer to Tullamarine for picks Nos.25 and 30.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit worried but everybody put their heads together and got the deal done," Stringer's manager Robbie D'Orazio said.

Jake Stringer's father, John, slams the Bulldogs' treatment of his son.

"There's been a little bit of a public stoning, from our perspective," John Stringer said.

"The human face of the whole football industry sometimes gets forgotten a little bit, and I think particularly in Jake's case, it's very easy for people to cast aspersions and say this has happened, or that's happened.

"At the end of the day, you're dealing with a human being."

The Western Bulldogs remain adamant Jake Stringer could play out the final year of his contract at Whitten Oval.

"As it stands, Jake's a Bulldogs player and there's every chance that Jake will be a Bulldogs player in 2018," Bulldogs director of football Chris Grant said.

Stringer's manager Robbie D'Orazio, however, says that neither party would want it to come to that.

"I don't think the Bulldogs would want Jake back and I don't think Jake wants to go there either," D'Orazio said.

Player manager Paul Connors slams the Western Bulldogs for their handling of the situation surrounding out-of-favour forward Jake Stringer.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge came out publicly last month to say Stringer leaving would benefit his teammates.

However, they are demanding a high price for Stringer and have declared they might keep the 23-year-old if an appropriate deal can't be reached.

"Clubs are publicly wanting to put our players and any player on the market, and then they go 'Oh hang on, we actually want pick 10 for this player or pick 20' but there's a caveat on it," Connors said.

Jake Stringer's management insists talks with interested clubs haven't stalled, despite explosive allegations about his off-field life.

Stringer has had to deal with a raft of allegations from his former partner, which include excessive gambling and infidelity.

"He's had a whirlwind few weeks, he's got a few issues that he's dealing with and he'll address that in due course," Stringer's manager, Paul Connors, said.

"In time he'll make a decision on where he thinks is best for his football."

Former Bulldogs skipper Bob Murphy says Jake Stringer should not be surprised that he has been put up for trade.

Stringer said he was shocked and upset after the Bulldogs told him they wanted to cut ties.

"I find that jarring (that Stringer could be shocked)," Murphy said.

"I think the inference there is that they pulled their punches in the exit meeting and from what I know of (coach) Luke (Beveridge) and the other (Stringer's) management team, that doesn't strike me as accurate."

Murphy said Stringer would have to learn to work harder on the track to get to the next level as an AFL player.

"He's got huge self-belief, but he's not yet a fanatic for the daily grind," Murphy said.

Jake Stringer says he felt "shock" and "upset" at being placed on the trade table by the Western Bulldogs, a decision that blindsided him after an exit interview with club officials he thought had gone well.

"We just spoke about family and life and I was really confident walking out of there," Stringer said.

"I knew where I stood and how my year was. I knew I didn’t have the greatest year so there was nothing that was said or anything like that. I was never annoyed or anything like that."

He revealed having not spoken with coach Luke Beveridge since being told he was on the way out, believing "it's past that point now".

"There's just a whole lot of things I could've done better, whether it was training or games. It's just the whole life sort of thing for me. I'm only young but I've learned a lot this year and I'm really looking forward to what's next for me," Stringer said.

Essendon has met with Jake Stringer as its interest in the Western Bulldogs premiership player ramps up.

"We have a really strong desire to see the process through and where Jake wants to get to with his football," Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro said.

"He's a quality player and he's got a lot to think through over the next few weeks, and we'd like to be part of that process."

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge confirms that Jake Stringer will be put on the 2017 trade table.

"Jake’s management and the club got together and both agreed we’d explore alternatives to him playing at the club and explore what’s right for his long-term future and the club’s," Beveridge said.

Essendon coach John Worsfold says the club would interested in Jake Stringer if he was up for the trade.

"There's not a big list out there. We'll sift through those," Worsfold said.

"If Stringer's on that list, (he's) obviously an All Australian player, we'll have to seriously consider what he might offer us if he is available."

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson expresses an interest in luring Jake Stringer to the Saints.

"We would be interested in any player that could complement (the recruiting) we've already done, and (Jake) has some incredibly elite attributes, so if he is (available), I'm sure as a list management group we'll look at players like that," Richardson told SEN radio.

Mitch Wallis says the future remains unclear for Bulldogs teammate Jake Stringer.

It has been reported that Stringer and the Bulldogs are open to the prospect of exploring a trade for the 2015 All Australian in this year's player exchange period.

"He's working through it. He wants to stay a Bulldog, [the club's] given him every opportunity for the last four or five years but it's still up in the air and he still has to really commit to the club," Wallis said.

"They want a full commitment from him and not one where he's unsure."

Jake Stringer's season is all but over after scans revealed he sustained a low-grade hamstring tear in the Bulldogs' loss to Port Adelaide.

"Unfortunately Jake suffered some hamstring tightness in the first quarter of the game on the weekend … scans today have confirmed that he does have a low-grade hamstring injury and will require some time in rehab," Bulldogs physiotherapist Chris Bell said.

"At this stage I’m predicting that Jake’s going to be unavailable for the next couple of weeks."

Jake Stringer is set to miss a number of weeks after injuring his hamstring against Carlton at the MCG.

Luke Beveridge has offered his full support to Jake Stringer after the Western Bulldogs forward felt compelled to rubbish rumours on his private life with a social media post.

Angered by gossip involving teammate Jason Johannisen and former partner Abbie Gilmour, Stringer took to Instagram to set the record straight.

"Let's all get one thing straight!!! Abby is the best mum to my little girls and has not done one thing WRONG EVER," Stringer wrote.

"Second of all Jason is a brother to ME. So if you wanna talk crap leave my family and mates alone go (somewhere) else cause it's all bulls--t!!"

Beveridge said while Stringer's actions may have frustrated the club, he understood the 23-year-old's need to get the truth out there.

"I think it's really difficult when there's rumours out there that obviously aren’t true, and you want to set the record straight," Beveridge said.

"I totally understand why he did it, I don't think (the club) was over the moon, but I support him."

Jake Stringer will miss the next 2-3 matches after scans revealed he strained a medial ligament in the Bulldogs' win over Richmond.

"Jake was involved in a tackle where his knee got twisted and caught under himself," Bulldogs medical services manager Chris Bell said.

"The mechanism of that tackle has caused Jake to damage the medial ligament in his knee.

"We'll put a framework around Jake from a rehab sense."

Lachie Hunter says he, and Bulldogs teammate Jake Stringer, have trimmed off any excess fat this pre-season compared to last year.

"Me and Jakey were in 'Fat Club' last year, so we did a bit of running together and came back all right this year," Hunter said.

"We based ourselves at Newport athletics track. He's (Stringer) got a bit of a history of not coming back in the greatest nick.

"Fitness was the main focus and we ramped up kicking towards the end."

Tory Dickson says Jake Stringer's demotion from the Bulldogs' senior side might have been the "little wake-up call" he needed.

Stringer paid the price for a lean patch of form and was a shock omission from the team that overcame Essendon by 40 points on Sunday.

"He's a magnificent player when he's up and going. He's had a couple of down weeks, and been sent back to tweak a few little things in his game," Dickson said.

"He's going to be a massive part of our finals and hopefully he can be back next week."

Amid criticism over his form, Western Bulldogs forward Jake Stringer believes a return to his dynamic best isn't far away.

Stringer has kicked only four goals in his past four outings after kicking 33 goals in his first 18 matches this season.

His form slump lead Hawthorn great Dermot Brereton to say the 2015 All Australian wants to "play his footy without suffering any body punishment" and that he "pulls out of the contest and wants to crumb" the ball.

"You don't read into the outside noise, it's just really important make sure your internal stuff is sound and perfect," Stringer said.

"I'm certain that (my form) will turn around pretty soon, and hopefully before the finals roll around."

Jake Stringer will have scans to determine the severity of the right shoulder injury he sustained against Gold Coast.

The 22-year-old hurt his right shoulder after being on the receiving end of a bump from Suns defender Steven May just before three-quarter time.

He walked off the ground supporting his right arm and emerged briefly from the rooms with his shoulder strapped, but took no further part in the match.

Jake Stringer will miss a week after injuring the AC joint in his right shoulder against Gold Coast.

Just seconds before the final break, Stringer was bumped by Suns defender Steven May and did not return to the field in the last quarter.

"The scans have come back and cleared him of any serious ligament or bone damage," Western Bulldogs football manager Graham Lowe said.

"Based on the information we've got today, we're optimistic that Jake is going to be in a position to be available for selection next week against Geelong."

Robbie Gray will be one of six AFL Players flying to take part in an innovative Gatorade testing program to improve player hydration.

Joining Gray will be Hawthorn's Luke Hodge and Grant Birchall, Western Bulldogs forward Jake Stringer, Geelong defender Harry Taylor, West Coast's best and fairest winner Andrew Gaff and Power assistant coach Matthew Nicks.

Jake Stringer signs a contract extension with the Western Bulldogs that will keep him at the club until the end of 2018.

"I want to stay here for the rest of my career so it was an easy decision to stay with the club," Stringer said.

"We've got an exciting group - in the next two or three years, hopefully we've got 60 or 70 games under our belt and hopefully we can strive towards something great."

Jake Stringer has dropped 5kg as he prepares for more time in the midfield in 2015.

"Bevo (Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge) is really big on being able to play multiple roles which is good for everyone, so you're not just stuck playing in the forward line," Stringer said.

"There'll be a lot of boys playing in different positions this year."

Stewart Crameri says he enjoys teaming up with Jake Stringer in the Bulldogs' forward line.

"I love playing with him because he's so hard at the ball and he's damaging," Crameri said.

"As soon as I know he's going to get the ball, I'm just expecting something special for him now. He's doing a great job and improving."

Jake Stringer is named the round 20 NAB AFL Rising Star nominee after booting a match-winning four goals against St Kilda in Lenny Hayes' farewell match.

"It's nice to get some recognition over the last couple of weeks," Stringer said.

"It's always nice to get individual accolades but it's mainly more about the team and getting a win every weekend.

"It was just good to hit the scoreboard when we needed to and it's even better to have done it against St Kilda, who were playing for a champion of their club (Lenny Hayes)."

Forward Jake Stringer hopes to break into the Bulldogs' midfield in time.

"I'm just happy playing a role as forward but if that involves getting up through the midfield, then I'm more than happy to do that but at the minute I'm happy playing forward," Stringer said.

Jake Stringer makes his AFL debut for the Western Bulldogs at Football Park with 5 disposals (2 kicks and 3 handballs), 2 marks and 2 tackles in a 52-point loss to Adelaide.

Jake Stringer will be out of action for a month after scans reveal ankle damage suffered against Hawthorn during the NAB Cup.