ESSENDON tackling machine Devon Smith has issued a warning to rivals: Good luck bringing down Jake Stringer this season.
Fresh off a club best and fairest and league-record 186 tackles in a single home and away season, Smith has revealed his struggles in contending with Stringer this pre-season.
While Smith has enjoyed a slow build working through long-term knee issues, Stringer has turned heads at training this summer, bagging seven goals in the Bombers' intraclub last week.
"Yeah (he kicked seven), and probably passed off about five," Smith told SEN.
"He's like tackling a big fridge at the moment.
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"I don't know if you've ever seen Jaques Kallis, the (South African) ex-cricketer. I saw him at the Giants one day and that's what Jake reminds me of, just a big, powerful person.
"He's (Stringer) actually done the most minutes out of everyone this pre-season, hasn't missed a session.
"That's pretty good for the guy last year that got to the club that wasn't running too freely."
Stringer will be monitored in the lead-up to Thursday night's opening to the JLT Community Series after leaving the track with a groin complaint on Monday.
Smith will take the field on restricted minutes, joining Zach Merrett (ankle), Dyson Heppell (hamstring tendinitis) and Joe Daniher (groin) in overcoming delayed pre-seasons.
"It's good this year we've seen him (Daniher) on the track a lot more, some of the things he's done for a big guy I've been a little bit blown away," Smith said.
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"He's just moving freely now, kicking the ball, these little things.
"I think he's more hungry than he's ever been with his footy because he's a pretty laidback person, as soon as he hits the track at the moment it's 'game on' which I like to see."
Asked to look into the crystal ball for the Bombers this season, Smith highlighted the club's most dangerous small forward.
"I wish that Orazio Fantasia played 20 games because that'd go a long way for us playing finals," Smith said.
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"We're a better team with him in the side. If he can get his body right and start learning when to train so hard and not to train so hard it'll help us out."
After meeting the Blues, the Bombers travel to GMHBA Stadium to face the Cats on March 7 to round out their pre-season.
