Efficient Bombers record their highest score of 2024.
Jake Stringer was firing on all cylinders on Sunday.
The forward bagged five goals to go with 20 touches and 10 score involvements for a well-rounded performance in the win over West Coast, helping the Dons back onto the winners list following the bye.
For Assistant Coach Dale Tapping, Stringer’s impact as both a forward target and midfield bull has been indelible in the side’s current structure, reflected by his five clearances on the weekend.
“We know (Jake’s) a dual threat,” Tapping said.
“When he gets a head of steam up at centre bounce, it just builds momentum for us. I’m not sure how many centre bounce attendances he went to, but he certainly has an influence in that part of the ground.
“He can get forward, generally catches a bit of a mismatch and he presented really well. If we can keep getting that balance of output, that’ll be pleasing.”
Stringer’s haul of 5.1 bolstered Essendon’s highest-scoring game (19.8) so far in 2024, a welcome response to some criticism over the side’s inefficiency in the fortnight leading into the bye round.
With the coaches drawing a focus to their ball movement forward of centre over the break, the improvement was clear to see on Sunday.
“We obviously did a fair bit of work (on our forward half efficiency) when we came back over the break,” Tapping said.
“We took 18 marks inside 50 and created some really good looks and opportunities, but there was a couple there we thought we could secure a bit better and we didn’t.
“There was a big improvement from the previous week against Carlton where we probably went in a bit too straight, but today we were a little more deliberate around trying to find a mark and shift the ball around a bit more.
“We closed out the game quite strongly, which was pleasing.”
With important forward Jade Gresham missing the clash for personal reasons, Essendon’s front half needed to compensate for pressure and Matt Guelfi typically provided.
Undertaking a defensive role on Eagles star Jeremy McGovern, Guelfi still managed to play his own game and register a couple of goals, continuing his solid run of form this season.
“West Coast’s defence don’t just defend, they actually attack in terms of their intercepting type players,” Tapping said.
“(McGovern’s) one of the better defenders in the comp and can really influence the game with his marking. ‘Guelf’ did a really good job, kept him to three intercept marks and hit the scoreboard himself, got the ball to ground and kept him accountable throughout the course of the day.
“Obviously, we covered with the loss of ‘Gresh’ today, but he’ll be available next week which is good.”
The Bombers enter round 16 in third spot on the ladder, looking to consolidate their place against another top eight side in the Cats at the MCG on Saturday, shaping as one of the games of the round for stalwart Dyson Heppell‘s 250th game.
Tapping’s keeping a consistent approach into the fixture, with the last two months of football giving the Bombers a strong platform to build into the final stages of the campaign.
“We’ve created a really good opportunity for ourselves now in the last 9-10 weeks,” Tapping said.
“We’ve just got to continue to do our work each week in such an even competition.
“Whoever we play, we just prepare as best we can and compete as hard as we can and that’ll be no different against Geelong on Saturday night.”