How Jake Stringer could shape the Giants’ premiership hopes in 2025
Jake Stringer’s off-again, on-again trade to GWS was only sealed in the final minutes of Trade Period. LACHLAN MCKIRDY examines why the Giants’ gamble can become a huge bargain.
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After a seemingly endless exodus of players, the GWS Giants landed one of the most intriguing off-contract names in the competition in the final minutes of this year’s trade period.
Jake Stringer is coming off an impressive 42-goal season at the Bombers but has played his last game for Essendon after being traded for pick 53 in an off-again, on-again deal.
While several teams were lined up as potential landing spots for the experienced forward, it was the Giants who emerged as the only likely suitor as the trade period dragged on.
On paper, it’s a peculiar move for a team that finished in the top four last season.
Their attack wasn’t a real issue and they seem to be happy to have a young age profile.
However, as Adam Kingsley looks to guide the side to its maiden premiership, there are some key areas where the move for Stringer makes sense.
ADDING FORM AND EXPERIENCE
When all is said and done, there is probably one spot in the Giants’ forward line up for grabs to start 2025.
Coleman Medallist Jesse Hogan, captain Toby Greene, Aaron Cadman and Brent Daniels have all but locked in four of them.
Livewire Darcy Jones will probably secure the other by the time March rolls around.
That leaves the Giants currently deciding between Jake Riccardi, Callum Brown or another small in Harvey Thomas or Toby McMullin for that final spot.
However, Stringer should be at the front of that queue as the third target.
Only once in his career has he kicked more goals than the 42 goals he tallied in 2024, and at age 30, is immediately in the prime of his career.
At the Giants, he will also have the benefit of coming into a system where all the pressure isn’t on him to deliver.
Hogan and Greene combined for 121 goals alone this year. Cadman added another 30 of his own. As long as Stringer can come in and contribute, the burden will be shared and the expectation won’t be on him. There’s also a chance he gets less attention because opposition defences will be too busy trying to deal with Hogan, Cadman and Greene.
The Giants were also one of the best inside 50 marking teams in the competition, thanks mainly to Hogan’s velcro hands. Stringer was rated as elite in his position for this season and will add to that dynamic.
There’s no doubt the 30-year-old will add experience to a team full of young forwards champing at the bit to prove themselves in the AFL. It would be his 13th season in the competition and he knows a thing or two about delivering in the big moments.
Another aspect which would have appealed for Stringer would be removing himself from the Melbourne footy bubble. We’ve seen how it has worked wonders for Hogan and it could have the same impact.
And even though the Giants have to start thinking ahead to long-term deals for players like Tom Green, the Giants have likely landed Stringer on a reasonable two-year deal. They also have the salary cap space to be flexible, particularly when they’d likely be able to get him for less than what they would have had to outlay to keep Isaac Cumming, Harry Perryman or even James Peatling who it’s been reported will earn at least $600,000 a year at Adelaide.
CAN STRINGER RIDE THE TSUNAMI?
The Giants grappled with the Stringer deal for over a week as they weighed up whether he would suit their system.
A key part of the Orange Tsunami game style is relentless forward pressure. Forwards are expected to work just as hard without the ball as they do with it in their hands. As a result, they finished as the fourth-best team in the AFL for tackles inside 50.
Stringer finished with 28 tackles inside-50 this season. Only Daniels and Cadman had more than him at the Giants. It’s clear that is an element of his game that he has worked on to have a greater impact.
But there’s also a risk that Kingsley simply goes in another direction. At various stages in 2024, he was willing to play ‘the kids’ to add that bit of chaos up forward. Jones, McMullin, Thomas – combined with Daniels, Greene and Toby Bedford – provides a level of dynamism that Stringer doesn’t.
There is also a desire to eventually get the athletic Brown back into the team as he continues his development from Gaelic football to Aussie rules.
The main aspect for Stringer’s is that he has to be content in that second, or even third-fiddle role.
Former Western Bulldogs captain Brad Johnson even went as far as suggesting during the trade period that Stringer might not be in GWS’ best 23.
There’s no doubt that this move carries risk for the Giants.
It’s not financial given the reported figure of two years at $450,000, but which Stringer arrives at Sydney Olympic Park? Is it one with an attitude of adding to a list that can win a premiership? The work he has put in over the past 12 months suggests he will.
From a culture perspective, it’s also important that Kingsley can see him assimilating to their current environment. This is a team that thrives on spending time together.
They are galvanised by their away trips, they spend their off days together and if Stringer wants to be successful at GWS, he will need to buy into that.
Hogan’s success in 2024 becomes the shining light. They took a risk on a key forward and it paid dividends, but they have to be careful not to set that as the benchmark.
However, all things being said, when ‘The Package’ does end up in Sydney with the Giants, it could be the move that finally delivers the consistency that his potential has always suggested was just beneath the surface.
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Originally published as How Jake Stringer could shape the Giants’ premiership hopes in 2025
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