Jake Stringer is finally a Bomber after the Western Bulldogs and Essendon clinched a deal for the forward less than 90 minutes before the end of the NAB AFL Trade Period.
After protracted talks that dragged on for nearly three weeks, the Bulldogs agreed on Thursday to send the contracted Stringer to Tullamarine for picks Nos.25 and 30.
The Bulldogs put Stringer on the trade table after the club's disappointing premiership defence this season.
His manager Robbie D'Orazio admitted there were concerns that his client wouldn't be able to get to the Dons.
"Obviously it took a little bit longer than we expected. Jake’s over the moon, currently overseas and can’t wait to get down and start training with his new teammates," he said.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit worried but everybody put their heads together and got the deal done.
"In hindsight, he probably would've had an opportunity to go back and play another year of football. That’s what we wanted, we didn’t want him to sit out."
Stringer played 89 games and kicked 160 goals for the Bulldogs after being taken at pick No.5 in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft.
The former Bendigo Pioneer quickly emerged as one of the competition's most exciting young talents. At 192cm, he was a difficult match-up in attack, with his explosive speed, strength and height, while he could pinch-hit in the midfield with devastating effect
Stringer won All Australian selection in this third season, 2015, after topping the Dogs' goalkicking with 56 in 22 games, and finishing seventh in the club's best and fairest award.
He could not maintain that form in 2016 and spent two weeks in the VFL late in the season before returning to be part of the Bulldogs' fairytale finals run to their second premiership. Despite his inconsistency, Stringer again led the Dogs' goalkicking with 42 majors.
Stringer endured an even tougher 2017. Hamstring and knee injuries limited him to 16 games, while he managed just 24.26 in front of goal.
The Dons were thrilled to secure Stringer and their forward line for 2018 shapes as an imposing one.
"I think the celebration for our football club is that we’re relevant again and we’re respected in the industry and we’re playing finals. It’s just great that players want to come to our club," Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro said.
"We’ve fixed up some areas of our list that we needed to address with guys that are 23 years of age and will be at the club for many years to come.
"We’ve had some honest dialogue with Jake … and he’s been upfront with all of his issues.
"We’ve spoken to as many people as we possibly can and he knows he’s got a little bit of work to do, but we think we’ve got the infrastructure and the support around him to get the very best out of him for a long time to come."
