Essendon set to postpone contract extension talks with Jake Stringer

Jake Stringer started the year on fire against the Hawks, but Essendon are set to push back talks for a contract extension. Details here.

Essendon is happy to postpone contract talks for Jake Stringer as both club and player hope he can avoid last year’s drastic form drop-off in the back half of the season.

Stringer started the season on fire with a barnstorming performance against Hawthorn on Saturday and if he can continue that form he will be richly rewarded by the Dons.

But Essendon is well aware the recipe for complacency is handing him a long-term contract so will attempt to structure a deal that gives him significant incentive to play his best football in coming seasons.

Stringer has spoken briefly about the hard work he has done on his mental health over summer as teammate Andy McGrath hailed him for his progress on body and mind since last season.

Stringer was last out of contract in 2021 and put together a huge 41-goal season, signing a three-year deal that had incentives put in place to allow him to maximise his earnings if he fired for the Dons.

Jake Stringer celebrates a goal against the Hawks. Picture: Getty Images

So both parties will get a better idea of his progress much later in the season.

Stringer has the last chance this year to win a significant multi-year deal in a season in which he turns 30 in April.

But Essendon will want to keep him on a shorter-term deal to incentivise him to perform.

Stringer has made clear he wants to finish his career at Essendon so it is a delicate negotiation that will need to keep him happy while also protecting the club’s interests.

The Dons have also spent up big on players by handing over $700,000-a-season to Jade Gresham and $800,000-a-year to Ben McKay, which player managers will factor into their contract dealings.

Essendon chief executive Craig Vozzo made clear the club wasn’t in a rush when asked about Stringer before Saturday’s clash.

“I think we will wait. We will see some outcome through the course of the year. I think he will be happy to do that too and just see where we land, both as a football club and then with Jake’s performance level,” Vozzo told ABC Sport.

Last year Stringer started the season in a blaze of glory after being held out of the senior team to build fitness until round three.

Stringer will look to continue his form from round 1. Picture: Michael Klein

From rounds 3-8 he averaged 2.2 goals, six score involvements and 13 possessions before battling injuries including plantar fascia, with those figures dropping away from rounds 9-23.

He averaged 0.7 goals (a 66 per cent drop), one groundball get (a 67 per cent drop) and only 7.8 Player Rating points (a 42 per cent drop).

He told club great Tim Watson last month he was attempting to be a better all-round person after working hard across summer on his mental health.

“It’s about making sure you’ve got a healthy mind and healthy body,” Stringer said.

“But I’ve had troubles throughout my whole career. And there’s things that I’m sure at a later date I’ll speak about it, but at the minute I’m just in that building block process.

“(But it was) everything, it’s the whole lifestyle, everything. Not to say my lifestyle was extravagant (but) I didn’t know how to deal with things so I’ve just gone away and worked at those (issues). “It’s something that I take day by day (to) become a better person, a better father, a better teammate, and just all-round better human, really.”

Originally published as Essendon set to postpone contract extension talks with Jake Stringer