Would Geelong be better off targeting Gary Ablett or Jake Stringer this off-season?

WOULD Geelong be better off with a favourite son who is in the back end of his career or a rising star who already has a premiership and All-Australian to his name? They can’t have both.

Jake Stringer wants out of the Western Bulldogs. Picture: AAP Images

WOULD Geelong be better off with a veteran favourite son who is in the back end of his career or a rising star who already has a premiership and All-Australian to his name?

That is the decision the Cats must make this off-season, with both Gary Ablett and Jake Stringer linked to the club as possible trade targets.

Speculation about Ablett joining the Cats in 2018 has been rife all year after it emerged the two-time Brownlow Medal winner requested a trade back to the club last off-season.

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However, with Stringer’s sudden availability, the Cats now face a tough decision.

Despite the Ablett family’s incredible history with Geelong, former Melbourne great Garry Lyon believes the club must prioritise getting Stringer.

“Of course they do (need to prioritise Stringer over Ablett),” he said on Channel 9.

“You take all the emotional stuff (out of it) and the Geelong supporters would love the fact that Gary came back and all that but, he is 33/34 with soft tissue history.”

The question that is now being hotly debated in football circles is, what is Stringer worth via trade?

The 23-year-old is coming off a tough year and was down in almost all major stat areas from 2016.

He also battled injury issues throughout the season, playing in just 16 games.

While the Bulldogs will be hoping for a high first round draft pick in exchange for Stringer, former Essendon star Matthew Lloyd believes the club has lost all its bargaining power.

“The Bulldogs don’t want him. They don’t want him to play there. He doesn’t want to be there,” Lloyd said.

“The issue … for the Western Bulldogs is, every other club knows that the Bulldogs don’t want him there next year. Suddenly, he is not worth the pick 10 or 12. The industry thinks he is worth pick 20.”

In his All-Australian year in 2015, Stringer booted 56 goals and ranked in the top 10 in the AFL for tackles inside 50.

He has been unable to match those numbers since and was even dropped to the VFL late last year.

Gary Ablett will likely leave the Gold Coast this off-season. Picture: Getty Images

However, Essendon great Tim Watson believes Stringer could be a bargain pick-up for the right team.

“I think (he is worth) probably a pick between 10 and 20,” Watson said on Channel 7.

“I think you’d probably have to pay him between $600,000 and $750,000 per year maybe to take him on as well.

“I reckon for the right team he could prove to be a bargain buy.”