Jake Stringer will miss Essendon’s first pre-season match in opposition to Gold Coast with hamstring tightness, the membership has confirmed.
The highly effective ahead was absent from the monitor on Wednesday morning because the Bombers went by way of gentle drills forward of their departure for Queensland.
Stringer moved across the health club at The Hangar however didn’t be part of his teammates for the session.
After leaving coaching with an harm grievance on Tuesday, Stringer regarded upset.
New Essendon captain Zach Merrett defended Stringer, saying a scarcity of preparation was not behind his continued harm woes.
“Jake, like every player, has his own program to an extent,” Merrett mentioned.
“He’s a very unique player … him, De Goey, Petracca, these guys that are super explosive and powerful are unique, and at times I’m sure with that explosiveness he has injuries that will pop up.
“We just want him to get back to that explosiveness and impact on the scoreboard and forward of centre.”
Merrett spoke for the primary time after his appointment as Essendon skipper on Tuesday, saying his shock management group demotion in 2020 had ended up enjoying a vital half in his ascension to the position.
After he was promoted to Essendon’s management group in solely his third season and led the membership in two video games throughout the identical 12 months, Merrett advised he could have come to be seen as out of contact by a few of his teammates.
“Being in a leadership group at 20 – (players) get pulled apart in a lot of ways in meetings formally all the time, and guys probably didn’t want to say things around me,” he mentioned.
“I think (2020) was unique in a number of ways – being in a hub, being out of the leadership group was a great opportunity.
“I spent three months with teammates I probably hadn’t spent time with before.”
Merrett mentioned spending the season with out the extra tasks had allowed him to point out his teammates his true colors.
“For three months I was able to have coffees, informal chats, corridor chats … I was just able to sit by the pool on the Gold Coast and have chats about footy and life,” he mentioned.
“That was a great opportunity to learn, and looking back now it was probably a great asset for me.
“I opened up a little more and gave those guys more of an into me, and in turn those guys opened up to me as well.”
Source: www.news.com.au
