Jake Stringer is used to the constant critiques – of his preparation, his consistency, and even who he socialises with.
“Am I unfairly criticised? Maybe some of it I deserve. Some of it I don’t,” Stringer told this masthead ahead of his Greater Western Sydney debut on Saturday.
Stringer, the explosive forward who crossed to the Giants when Essendon was unwilling to offer him more than a one-year contract extension at the end of last season, has been turning heads at his new club not just for his raw ability with the ball in hand, but for his defensive running, tackling and leaner physique.
As he drives to his new rental pad in Coogee, he admits that the constant media attention in Melbourne took its toll.
And he is adamant he did not deserve the attention that came his way when he was publicly linked with convicted killer Kamil Yucel, who visited the Essendon rooms in June last year. However, the footage of Yucel in the background while teammate Nick Hind was interviewed during a “Roaming Brian” segment on Channel Seven did not come to light until October.
The Herald Sun reported that the AFL Integrity Unit had warned the Bombers to be vigilant about who was allowed into their change rooms.
Stringer insists he was not spoken to at the time about the presence of Yucel, who had been sentenced to five years’ jail for manslaughter in 2016.
“I was never told about it, that it was a problem, or anything that happened, until pretty much trade week,” said Stringer.
“And then I was like, well, this is interesting that this has come out now. They’re the things that annoyed me. Annoyed me because I’m like, well, that’s got nothing to do with me, but I’m trying to move clubs [and] all of a sudden I’ve betrayed this or betrayed that.
“It was bizarre, that whole thing. It’s just another example of someone leaking something at a time that it was like that it was never a problem. I was never told about. It was never an issue. And then, all of a sudden, it was a big issue.
“I think that incident was the middle of the year, and I’m finding out the week I’m trying to get a trade. You tell me. That was in June, and it didn’t get released until trade week. That’s a bit interesting isn’t it, don’t you think?”
Stringer denied having a close association with Yucel.
“There are a million people who I’ve had coffee with and caught up with. He was someone that was always at the cafe, that’s all there really is to that,” he said.
The sight of Stringer running out alongside the likes of Toby Greene, Aaron Cadman, Jesse Hogan and Brent Daniels will send shivers down the spines of opposition supporters.
