AFL trade news: Essendon prepared to hold Jake Stringer to contract as draft disaster looms over Isaac Kako bid

Essendon could be asked to pitch in to move Jake Stringer to GWS, with one of footy’s most respected analysts saying there was no way the Bombers could welcome the forward back.

Essendon could be asked to chip in some of Jake Stringer’s new salary at GWS Giants next season as part of the deal to send him north.

The two clubs inched closer to a deal on Thursday although there remains no guarantees Stringer, 30, will join the Giants next season.

The Bombers want a better pick than GWS’s 53 or 56 but it could yet hinge on whether Essendon will also pay a small portion of his salary at the Giants.

GWS could pay $500,00 and the Bombers’ tip in upwards of $100,000 to sign off on the trade and his new two-year deal at GWS.

At this stage GWS has three list spots available and could look to package together picks 15, 16, 21 and 37 to help jump up the order with a club such as St Kilda, which has picks seven and eight.

Jake Stringer appears to be on the move . Pic: Michael Klein

North Melbourne great David King said the Bombers couldn’t welcome Stringer back next season.

“All I’ve heard is what he doesn’t do and that’s mainly from the Essendon camp,” King said on Fox Footy’s Trading Day.

“(They say) He doesn’t chase, he doesn’t pressure. He’s doesn’t help us with his preparation and he isn’t professional enough, he’s not fit enough.

“I don’t know how you go from that position to walking him back in the door.

“If you are all about standards … you just have to purge this player.

“You cannot allow for the sake of a contract that is only lightweight anyway in AFL terms … I’d pay him out.

“If you are going to make a statement, that is the ultimate statement.

“Otherwise you are accepting everything you said you wouldn’t.”

Bombers list boss Matt Rosa made it clear on Thursday the club would not allow the forward to move without a decent return.

“I won’t speculate (on pick 56 being part of the trade) given no official request has been made,” Rosa said.

“But like any other player, the fact that Jake’s a contracted player, it would need to be adequate compensation.”

The Herald Sun reported on Wednesday that Stringer wanted to become a Giant after productive talks with GWS powerbrokers this week.

One potential makeweight in the deal was shut down on Thursday when former first-round pick Conor Stone re-signed for two years at the Giants.

Stone, the No.15 pick in the 2020 draft, had met with the Bombers as he weighed up whether to join the exodus from western Sydney.

“He’s someone that we had been tracking throughout the season given that he was playing a lot of VFL footy and was out of contract at the end of the year,” Rosa said on Trade Radio.

“We probably weren’t surprised that he decided to stick with the Giants given their list changes that have taken place. He can see real opportunity there.

“He was someone we liked and we were tracking closely.”

Rosa confirmed the club had been monitoring Brisbane Lions defender Jaxon Prior as a potential addition.

Out-of-contract duo Sam Weideman and Will Setterfield remain in limbo as the trade period continues.

BOMBERS FACE DRAFT DISASTER OVER ACADEMY BIDS

Essendon faces the prospect of a draft night disaster as its efforts to move up the order during the trade period prove fruitless.

The Bombers have tried to improve their position in the first round (currently No. 9) as they seek to avoid having their top-10 pick swallowed up by an early bid for NGA prospect Isaac Kako.

Kako has been touted as a possible top-10 selection and if one of the clubs with a selection before Essendon bids on him, the Bombers will have to use selection nine to match.

St Kilda, which holds picks 7 and 8, has been said to hold interest in the gifted small forward.

“We explored that (moving up the draft order),” Bombers list boss Matt Rosa said.

“We have spoken to some clubs ahead of us to see if there’s the potential of moving up.

“But I think as time goes on, we’ve realised that it’s going to be hard to potentially move up in this draft (because) everyone is valuing those high picks.

Isaac Kako is in the danger zone for Essendon. Picture: Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images.

“It’s something we will keep exploring but I would say unlikely at this stage.”

The Bombers have fielded interest from rival clubs about splitting pick nine for later selections in this year’s draft or future picks.

That would allow them to avoid losing pick nine, and its points value, if a club bids on Kako with one of the first eight selections.

“We’re just assessing all our options. We have had some offers and some interest in that pick nine, whether it be for us to move back and potentially move into the future.

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“We’re in a position where we have just really got to listen to all opportunities.

“The pointy end of this draft is strong and it would need to be quite a special offer for us to consider giving up that pick nine, at this stage.”

Bombers goalkicking great Matthew Lloyd said the perfect scenario for his former club would be landing the draft’s premier key forward prospect Harry Armstrong and Kako.

“If they can bring in Kako and Armstrong, they get the gun key forward which they haven’t had and then they get a gun small forward. That is the one-two punch the Bombers could look at,” he said on 3AW.

Originally published as AFL trade news: Essendon prepared to hold Jake Stringer to contract as draft disaster looms over Isaac Kako bid