‘We need more’: Coach slams Essendon star’s ‘poor’ return as Voss shuts down question

It might have been Jake Stringer’s first match back from a hamstring injury, but that didn’t stop Essendon coach Ben Rutten from demanding more from the star midfield-forward.

Stringer, who hadn’t played since round seven, was kept quiet during the Bomber’s 26-point loss to the Blues.

The 28-year-old was limited to just nine disposals, seven kicks, two handballs and a lone behind.

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Essendon Press Conference | 03:47

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Following the loss, their 10th of the season, Rutten didn’t leave much to the imagination as he demanded more from his senior player.

“I hope so. Yeah, he had a poor game tonight, he’s a senior player for us, we need more from him. Hopefully he’ll get a bounce out of that,” Rutten said.

Nor did he put down a lack of match practice as an excuse for the underwhelming return.

“I don’t think (he needs more training),” Rutten said. 

“His last couple of weeks – he would have played last week if we didn’t have the bye, so his preparation’s been fine.”

Jake Stringer came under fire for his underwhelming return for the Bombers on Friday night. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

On their 150th anniversary, Essendon were right in the contest midway through the second term.

But Carton’s ability to transfer quickly into the forward 50 and take their chances hurt Essendon’s chances of pulling off an upset.

“I thought our general contest work (was good), we had 75-odd tackles, we were able to get our share around the contest. Carlton have been pretty good in that space around stoppages and their contested work,” Rutten said.

“I think we were ahead in our ground balls inside 50, which is an important stat generally, that’s what gives you the opportunities around goal.

“Execution around goal, execution around the ground, there’s still some cost for us in those areas.”

Meanwhile, Blues coach Michael Voss confirmed Adam Cerra would miss next week’s crunch match against Richmond because of a hamstring injury.

“Until he gets scans, like we tend to with these, we’ll wait and see what it looks like. We’re certainly hoping it’s at the minor end, but hamstring tightness at the moment,” Voss said.

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Voss, however, shutdown talk their percentage (114) was a concern going forward and instead said the only focus remained securing another win.

“It doesn’t bother me, I don’t look at it, to be fair. From day dot – and you’ve heard me talk about this every time I’ve sat here – we celebrate the four points,” Voss said.

“This is an extremely hard environment in which we play in. We take nothing for granted in what we’ve been given, because we have to deserve it. There was a lot going on around the game about Essendon and what they were celebrating (150 years), and it was a really important night for them.

“We were conscious of all of that, the players got themselves really prepared for that, but more importantly, I think we locked in on a way we wanted to play. In some areas, that was taken off us, but what I’m pleased at is our players were able to adapt and we won in a slightly different way. Some of our back-half transition was fantastic.”

The win saw the Blues leap ahead of Geelong and St Kilda temporarily into fourth spot.

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