Jake Stringer is reportedly set to join St Kilda as a delisted free agent, with the former GWS forward expected to undergo a medical at the Saints on Monday. A move to Moorabbin would make the 2016 premiership player a four-club veteran after stints at the Western Bulldogs, Essendon and the Giants.
Updated 2:20pm AEDT, Wednesday 4 November: Stringer’s move from GWS to St Kilda has now been confirmed as a delisted free agent signing, AFL.com.au reported on Wednesday, making him the latest member of the AFL’s “four-club club”. His final game for the Giants was his 250th career match.
Update, 19 October: St Kilda has confirmed Stringer will join the club next month, AFL.com.au reported. The Saints and Stringer have agreed contractual terms, with the deal to be formalised when the delisted free agency period opens on 2 November.
“Jake has a proven ability to hit the scoreboard and we believe he can add another dimension to our forward line,” Saints football manager Lenny Hayes said, according to AFL.com.au. “Jake’s experience and goal kicking ability will complement the talent we already have while giving us greater flexibility and depth in attack.”
SEN’s Sam Edmund reported that Stringer is set to join St Kilda and that the move could be announced on Monday, while the Sydney Morning Herald reported that he is expected to do a medical at the club as the Saints move towards signing him.
7NEWS reported that talks between the two parties had escalated rapidly in the past 72 hours, with a formal offer likely to land in the coming days. Neither St Kilda nor Stringer had confirmed a deal at the time of writing.
Firepower for the Saints
Stringer, 32, kicked 48 goals for GWS in 2026 but was delisted at the end of the season. He has kicked 440 goals from 250 games across his three clubs.
St Kilda finished 11th in 2026 without injured spearhead Max King, and Liam Ryan was the club’s leading goalkicker with 33 goals, according to the Herald. SEN noted Stringer kicked bags of seven against Fremantle, six against Adelaide and five against both Hawthorn and Brisbane this year.
Read more: Sam Marshall Traded to St Kilda as Saints Send 2027 First
The move appears to have come together quickly. SEN reported that St Kilda head of football Lenny Hayes had said only three days earlier that Stringer “hasn’t really been discussed”.
AFL.com.au’s AFL Daily podcast also flagged the Saints as being in the box seat to sign the forward for 2027.
‘Quite a few years left’
Stringer said late in the season, as he prepared for his final game as a Giant, that he was comfortable with the club’s decision not to renew his contract, the Herald reported. He said the timing was right because he wanted to spend more time with his daughters in Melbourne.
Read more: Toby Greene Joins Geelong as Free Agent
“I definitely feel like I have quite a few years left,” he said.
7NEWS reported Stringer had met new Essendon coach Mark McVeigh at a cafe in Essendon earlier this month, but the Bombers later described it as a broad meeting rather than a contract pitch.
From Bulldog to Bomber to Giant
Stringer was taken by the Western Bulldogs with pick No.5 in the 2012 national draft and played 89 games for the club, including the 2016 premiership. He was an All-Australian in 2015 and moved to Essendon ahead of the 2018 season, winning the Bombers’ goalkicking award three times before joining GWS on a two-year deal.
The Herald reported that Stringer was recruited in the 2012 national draft by Simon Dalrymple, now St Kilda’s recruiting manager, alongside Jack Macrae, who he would join at the Saints.
Stringer is one of several delisted players attracting interest, with Essendon’s Elijah Tsatas, Richmond’s Samson Ryan and Carlton’s Zach Williams also on clubs’ radars. The next delisted free agency period opens in the first week of November.
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