Hopes for Stringer move still up in air
ESSENDON will call the bluff of Jake Stringer’s Western Bulldogs, adamant their deal of picks 25 and 30 for the mercurial star is the final offer.
Stringer’s management had made it clear over the weekend the 23-year-old will not return to the Dogs.
The Stringer camp believes the Dogs have backflipped after list manager Jason McCartney said on Saturday he was welcome back.
In the meeting which paved the way for Stringer to explore his options the coach and officials made it clear his position was untenable. His management believe the forward, who flies out for America on Monday, would be put in an unhealthy environment for his mental health to return.
It would put him back into the group of friends who the Dogs believed were troublesome, with Stringer still at odds with wife Abby and her friends among the Dogs players.
Stringer and his family both believe he could not face coach Luke Beveridge and play under him next year, having been pushed so quickly out the door.
Essendon’s offer of 25 and 30 is worth 1385 points under the values assigned to draft picks, almost identical to the value of this year’s pick 10 (1395 points).
The Dogs could have received pick 11 last week if they handed back pick 26, but as they stalled pick 11 went to GWS in the Devon Smith deal.
Stringer will not sit out of footy next year but could go into the 2018 pre-season draft after playing one more year, leaving the Dogs with no compensation.
His father will speak publicly at a PwC Australia traderelated breakfast today, expected to weigh in on his son’s situation. The Stringer family is understood to believe only a fresh start will reinvigorate his career.
Essendon will clinch a deal for Adam Saad in coming days, almost certainly for a 2018 second-round pick.
And Port Adelaide’s offer for departing Melbourne forward Jack Watts will likely be pick 31, the Power’s best draft pick after trading away this year’s first-rounder last year.
Geelong now has picks 19, 22 and 35 and 53, giving it ample selections to satisfy Gold Coast on Gary Ablett.
Even if the Cats hand over a second-rounder – more than they initially hoped – they have a strong draft hand with two early selections.
The AFL’s decision to award Geelong pick 19 for departing free agent Motlop – the same as Lance Franklin – saw outrage in the industry.
It again saw clubs calling on the league to release its formula for handing over compensation for free agents.
As player manager Scott Lucas said yesterday, the league is scared clubs will collude on a player’s contract, setting a price point that means one allows the other to take him. But Richmond and Hawthorn effectively did that with Tyrone Vickery’s contract last year, clubs believing the league needs transparency.