Jake Stringer, what has happened to him?

jdz101

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50+ goals and 16 disposals a game in 2015, had many very excited and the footy media frothing at the prospect of that sort of play for years to come.

2016 was a down year but he still managed 40 goals. Many thought he'd return to his 2015 form this year and he never really got close.

What has gone wrong for Jake? Is it a case of everyone getting too far ahead of themselves?

Watching him closely from last year onward definitely seemed like he was drinking his own bathwater.

Is it time for him and the Dogs to part ways so he can start fresh elsewhere? Or should they persist?
  • Serious personal issues last year that he's trying to work through.
  • Trying to be a single dad of 2 young kids at the age of 23.
  • Hamstring problems.
  • Lack of fitness or continuity due to persistent injury.
  • Maybe a bit of your bathwater statement is correct after the premiership.
That about covers it.
 

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Mr_Moogle

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Are we talking about the same Chad Wingard that averaged ~45 goals a season over his next three seasons and got his 2nd AA in 2015?
Wingard has been mediocre as a small forward the last two years. Moving him to the middle has improved him as a player because he's actually being forced to work hard and win his own footy.
 

nineteen eighty

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I've had a decent look at her, she's a floozy. The elevator doesn't go to the top floor with him either.
Show some respect and stop being a petulant little sh1t.

Stringer is a classic case of happy life off field, gun on field. Unfortunately for whatever reasons (and stop guessing people as I have no doubt it's very complicated between Stringer and his ex) they have broken up and Stringer's mind has been elsewhere for some time.

All the best to him and his missus off field and hope other than against the Tiges, he brings his best next year and for years to come. If he gets his mind right, he's a top echelon player.
 

Damon_3388

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So has the entire team, hardly a reflection purely on him. Guy has averaged over 40 goals last 2 seasons.
And averaged 38 per year for his whole career (267 goals in 7 seasons). Not too many forwards across the league could say that they have that record by age 25. Stringer himself would need to kick 107 goals across the next two seasons (basically an immediate bounce-back to AA form) to even match that.

People criticise the hell out of Darling, but if Josh Kennedy retires in (let's say) three years time, Darling will still only be 28, and could easily have a few 55-65 goal seasons as a #1 target with greater direct supply. Hell, he could even have a season or two like that before then, if everything goes his way, and the Eagles begin to vary their attack/reduce focus on Kennedy out of necessity as he ages.
 
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Seriously, what is it with Bulldogs supporters and arguments that have nothing to do with your actual criticism and more to do with 'nice flags!!' (like they're Hawthorn) or how Jack Darling dropped a mark... like be happy your club got lucky and won a flag, it was really charismatic for a pretty average set of players to perform so well for a month – they were always on and playing direct, hard, attacking football that was good to watch and you got a great month out of it. I would love to see that. Just once. Like this constant barrage of coming into a thread that says something bad about about the club or a single part of it and the way Bulldogs fans latch onto defensiveness is insane.

Why are footy fans so hyper defensive these days and scared to admit their club, as they all do, might not be totally free of things of criticism?
 

irish

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I blame BT ! His over the top package love was enough to do the boys head in ! He was either so embarrassed he would not go near the ball or his head got so big he couldn't see the ball !

Either way it's back to basics and start again

He will be ok in time
 

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Yeah that definitely seems to have had an impact.

Went and saw the Dogs for the first time live in years last year in the semi against Hawthorn. Sat up high behind the goals and kept a close eye on Stringer all game. His leading patterns were either shit or nonexistent as he seemed to think he would be able to fly for pack marks each time the ball came in the forward 50.
Similar game in Grand Final, didn't do a lot, I was yelling my guts out at him!
 

go you pups

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if he is a half forward he needs to be a lot fitter and rotate through the midfield.
This is exactly what he is

Half forward/wing, best uses his attributes, speed and long range finishing. He's best used in situations where we are running as a team fowards toward goal, though he's an excellent crumber too.

He's awful as a key forward though because his overhead marking isn't good enough, shorter players like Picken, McLean and Dale are far better marks than him. He struggles hitting up too.

Unfortunately our taller depth isn't great and we are really exposed once a few injuries come along, as was the case this year with every KPP we had getting some sort of injury/illness except Cordy throughout the year, so he had to play as a number 1/2 forward regularly when he wasn't twisting his knee or doing his hammy.

We need to get our ruck stocks and key defensive stocks sorted otherwise players like Stringer and Bont will continually have to play as key forwards as when Boyd comes back he will continue to play in the ruck as Campbell/Roughead are both injury-prone while English is still 2 years away from being ready and capable swingman in Adams (injury-prone) and Cordy will both likely keep playing down back unless Kieren Collins comes on or we find a decent stopper through trade as we still haven't replaced Hamling while Roberts was exposed badly this year and banished to the VFL. Cordy, Young, Adams, Morris, Wood etc are all number 2/3/4 type of defenders or intercept types, not number ones who takes the gorillas.

He has all the attributes to be a gun forward of centre type of attacking mid, but his engine may not be good enough, then we may not ever fix our spine up too, so he may continue to play out of position and inconsistently. I feel once we fix our spine/have some luck on the injury front then we see the best of players like Stringer, Bont and Wood again as a positive flow on effect as they'll be able to play roles best suited for them and not have to punch above height/weight.
 

jimbob12

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Wingard has been mediocre as a small forward the last two years. Moving him to the middle has improved him as a player because he's actually being forced to work hard and win his own footy.
38 goals in 18 games ain't that bad in a team that had a very poor 2016. He averaged 2.1 goals per game.
 
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This is exactly what he is

Half forward/wing, best uses his attributes, speed and long range finishing. He's best used in situations where we are running as a team fowards toward goal, though he's an excellent crumber too.

He's awful as a key forward though because his overhead marking isn't good enough, shorter players like Picken, McLean and Dale are far better marks than him. He struggles hitting up too.

Unfortunately our taller depth isn't great and we are really exposed once a few injuries come along, as was the case this year with every KPP we had getting some sort of injury/illness except Cordy throughout the year, so he had to play as a number 1/2 forward regularly when he wasn't twisting his knee or doing his hammy.

We need to get our ruck stocks and key defensive stocks sorted otherwise players like Stringer and Bont will continually have to play as key forwards as when Boyd comes back he will continue to play in the ruck as Campbell/Roughead are both injury-prone while English is still 2 years away from being ready and capable swingman in Adams (injury-prone) and Cordy will both likely keep playing down back unless Kieren Collins comes on or we find a decent stopper through trade as we still haven't replaced Hamling while Roberts was exposed badly this year and banished to the VFL. Cordy, Young, Adams, Morris, Wood etc are all number 2/3/4 type of defenders or intercept types, not number ones who takes the gorillas.

He has all the attributes to be a gun forward of centre type of attacking mid, but his engine may not be good enough, then we may not ever fix our spine up too, so he may continue to play out of position and inconsistently. I feel once we fix our spine/have some luck on the injury front then we see the best of players like Stringer, Bont and Wood again as a positive flow on effect as they'll be able to play roles best suited for them and not have to punch above height/weight.

What about Cloke to defence?? Reckon he could do a Liam Jones and re-invent himself
 

ScragCity

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No way. Clubs give second leases out like lollies these days. Travis Cloke has been useless for years and even at his peak he was very one dimensional and not really worth the big offers he was getting. Somehow he gets picked up at, what, 32? Stringer will be at the Bulldogs for a while and if they delisted him a club would definitely grab him. He's set himself up. FFS Levi Casboult is being talked up as a trade target.
Sorry to ruin your narrative but Cloke was 29 when we picked him up (has since turned 30)
 
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