Ascendon coach Ben Rutten has been called up to Jake Stringer for a subper performance after returning to the AFL squad following a hamstring injury.
Rutten denied that the 28-year-old Stringer lacked conditioning after Carlton made just nine settlements at Ascendon’s 26-point rate.
After a wonderful 2021 season that saw him on the verge of building an All-Australian team, the Strings are still struggling to stay in the park this year.
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A pair of hamstring injuries on both legs further slowed Stringer’s progress before the start of the year was delayed due to a pre-season calf injury.
Despite Stringer’s first against Carlton since the seventh round, his coach refused to make any excuses for his star man.
“He had a bad game tonight and as a senior player for us, we need more from him.”
“Hopefully, he can get out of this,” he said.
“The last few weeks, we had a bye, he played last week, but we had a bye. His preparation has been good.”
The defeat against Carlton dropped Ascendon to a 2-10 record through his first 12 matches, leaving him 16th in the AFL ladder than the Kangaroos and Eagles alone.
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