Jesse Hogan outlines how Jake Stringer can take GWS Giants forward line to next level

Coleman medallist Jesse Hogan has hailed the impact of Jake Stringer and outlined how he thinks the former Bomber will take the GWS attack to the next level. Will Essendon live to regret losing him?

Jake Stringer’s ability to transform a game off his own boot is set to make the Giants’ forward line one of the most dangerous in the AFL according to his new teammate Jesse Hogan.

Stringer arrived at GWS this off-season following seven seasons at Essendon and has hit the ground running as he looks to help the Giants win an elusive first premiership.

The 30-year-old adds another dynamic to an attack that was already one of the most exciting in the competition, which included Hogan winning his first Coleman Medal after a 77-goal season.

Stringer had the second-most prolific year of his career in 2024, finishing with 42 goals. And after watching him up close at training over the past three months, Hogan is confident that Stringer has another level to go to.

“It’s only a short sample size and the season’s around the corner but he’s giving himself every chance to get back to his career-best form,” Hogan said.

“I mean, he might not even have played his best footy yet. He’s similar to Toby (Greene) in a way where he can turn the game on its head and there’s probably only a handful of players in the competition that can do that.

“He hasn’t missed a beat and it’s truly exciting to see. He hasn’t come here thinking, ‘Oh, the spot’s going to be there’. He’s put his hard hat on, got in every day and he’s in some of the best shape he’s been in.

“I feel like we’re quite dynamic and there’s not a lot of forward lines that can probably say the same. They’re probably a bit one-player heavy, I think we have four or five legitimate guys who can step up and win a game.”

Hogan and Stringer’s paths to the Giants share many similarities. Both players arrived at the club from high-pressure conditions, escaping constant criticism for a chance to fall in love with football once more.

While there is a sense of expectation on what GWS can achieve in 2025, Hogan is confident that playing outside the traditional footy bubble in Sydney is an environment that Stringer will relish.

“Everyone’s footy story is different,” Hogan said.

“But he’s also had a bit of media scrutiny about him.

“A lot of people question him and now he can come up here and release the shackles a bit. He can disconnect and you see that in him.

Jesse Hogan is excited for what Jake Stringer will bring to the Giants.

It was almost subconscious to me that I wasn’t as immersed or the pressure wasn’t strong. You can come to the club, then go home and go about pre-season without cameras everywhere.

“I haven’t always known him super close, I met him when I was really young, but he seems relaxed but with an urgency to get into the team.”

If Stringer can achieve half of what Hogan has since moving to Sydney at the end of 2020, it will be money well spent by the Giants.

Hogan has found the best form of his career, kicking 126 goals across the past two seasons and cementing his status as the best key forward in the competition. His deadly accuracy made him efficient in front of goal, while he has become a defender’s worst nightmare with his ability to win contested marks.

While he appears to have finally won his well-documented battle with injury on the back of modified training programs, it’s the confidence instilled in him by coach Adam Kingsley that turned out to be the true catalyst for his record year in 2024.

“It’s definitely a team sport, we don’t play for individual accolades,” Hogan said. “But with the trajectory of my career and the ups and downs, to have (the Coleman Medal) alongside my name for the rest of my life is pretty cool.

“My brother-in-law used to be a mad Freo fan and follows me closely. He said it’s so cool that from now on they’re not going to say Jesse Hogan, rising star winner. It will always be Jesse Hogan, Coleman Medallist.

“To Adam (Kingsley’s) credit, he to a degree gave me the keys to the forward line for a lot of those games at the end of the year, which no coach has ever done. No coach has given me that much faith … that I’m one of the better forwards in the competition.”

But Hogan is far from satisfied with how his year ended for the Giants. The key forward did his bit, kicking eight goals across their two finals, but the club still ended their season in straight sets after consecutive losses to the Swans and Lions.

It’s provided the reigning Coleman Medallist with even more motivation to try and improve and help lead the club to an inaugural flag.

“We put ourselves in a good position to push for a flag and didn’t quite get there,” Hogan said. “It was a pretty disappointing way to finish.

“(Adam) doesn’t want to sweep that under the rug. He really wanted to get to the nuts and bolts of what went wrong. He goes, we’d rather be in those positions and losing them than not being there at all.

“Individually, it’s using last year as a springboard and not resting on your laurels. Obviously, I want to win a flag. I’m one of the older boys in the club now. And while the body’s the number one thing I’m going to invest time into … it’s more on-field leadership when games are turning.

“It’s helping Ricca (Riccardi) and Cads (Cadman) and being a presence for them. It’s growing in that space so we’ve got more on-field leaders. I think that’s probably one of our biggest downfalls last year in a lot of games, especially at the end of the year.

“The belief for myself and the team should still be we’re absolutely as good as we were last year. Having big leads against the two grand finalists … from a team perspective we’ve got a lot of confidence.”

Originally published as Jesse Hogan outlines how Jake Stringer can take GWS Giants forward line to next level