Dons dabble with Stringer

ESSENDON has not ruled out its recruit Jake Stringer reverting to a majority forward role, but the club says the midfield experiment will continue for now.

Stringer has spent most of preseason training with the Bombers’ midfield group as coach John Worsfold looks to mould him into an explosive on-baller.

But the former Western Bulldogs forward has made limited impact in the middle in Essendon’s two pre-season matches, and the forward line still appears to be where he does his best work. Bombers captain Dyson Heppell said the side would “for sure” persist with the midfield move but would find the right balance for Stringer’s role as the season progressed.

“It will be about finding that balance of how long he spends in the middle,” Heppell said. “We know he’s a dangerous forward as well, so whether he’s majority forward and pinch-hitting in the middle, we’ll be able to find that balance as we go.

“[Jake’s] had an enormous preseason. I’ve been really impressed the way he’s gone about it. He was quite good in Colac as well, so I think we’ll see some strong performances from Jake this year.”

Heppell said the side would take “a bit of confidence” out of that four-point win over Geelong in Colac last weekend after a poor showing against Richmond in its first pre-season match.

It was not all good news from the clash with the Cats, though. The hunt is on to find a replacement for defender Martin Gleeson, who has been ruled out for at least 12 weeks with a broken foot.

“It hurts a fair bit because he’s a great intercept mark and reads the play really well,” Heppell said.