JAKE Stringer arrived at Essendon as the club's highest profile recruit since the Bombers nabbed Brendon Goddard in 2012.

He came with a premiership medal and an All Australian jumper on his CV, but had also been pushed out of the Western Bulldogs. He knew his every move, kick, mark (and haircut) would be discussed.

So when the Bombers' struggles peaked in round eight, after they lost to bottom-placed Carlton, eyes turned quickly to Stringer's form. He had managed only 11 disposals the week earlier against Hawthorn and was again goalless against the Blues. 

His position in the team became up for debate and questions were asked of his recruitment. Stringer was one of the faces of Essendon's slump, but he expected the scrutiny. 

"It's going to happen for my whole career, so there's no point getting upset or anything. I know the work I'm putting in, so as long as long as I continue to put my head down and bum up and work hard I know the rewards will come," he told AFL.com.au this week. 

"I've put in a lot of work during the week and I knew it was only going to be a matter of time until things started to turn for me.

"All the coaches were really supportive in that time in reassuring me that things will change and that as soon as the team starts going better everyone will start going better. Everyone's in it together."

Things have turned. Truth be told, Stringer's season before that two-week patch was fine as he settled into Essendon's side, and included a match-winning bag of four goals against Port Adelaide in round four.

But in four of the past five games, Stringer has kicked three goals. In the one he didn't – against Richmond in round 11 – he was Essendon's best player with 29 disposals, a career-high tally.

Stringer continues to mix and match between attack and the midfield, and said the Bombers have given him a licence to move around the ground to find the best fit.

"It goes week by week for me and how I'm feeling during the games. They're very flexible with me and if I think I can go forward and get a good match-up, or if I need to be up around the ball, I'll go up there," he said. 

"The better the team goes, the more looks you're going to get going forward. If we're not going well as a team then blokes up forward are going to get stale. I know my endurance is slowly getting better so I can spend more time in the midfield which doesn't leave me stale forward."

His aerobic capacity is getting better, and he is glad Essendon threw him into "the deep end" and made him train with the midfield group over summer to lift his running. He boxes in the club's altitude room three times a week, and has a pool and gym where he lives so regularly uses them for cross-training purposes outside of the club's program.

Stringer leads Essendon's goalkicking this season – he's booted 23 for the season and stepped up in Joe Daniher's absence. He isn't back to his 2015 form, that saw him picked in the team of the year and kick 56 goals, but it has been a more influential effort than last season. He says a "mental freshen up" has been crucial.

"It's massive. There was a stage there [last year] that you go through where you don’t fully love the game, but I enjoyed going to training and work," he said.

"But since I've come here it's just been so good to put everything behind me and really start completely fresh. I had little hamstring injuries last year which were annoying, so to be able to come here and have a full pre-season has been good for me."

He also hasn't lost his sense of theatre. Last week, with less than two minutes left on the clock in Essendon's win over North Melbourne and the Bombers leading by 14 points, Stringer soaked up time before kicking a goal from point-blank range.

His waiting at the top of the mark infuriated his Roos opponents, including Jamie Macmillan on the mark, so Stringer stayed silent but offered a cheeky wave and grin at Macmillan before slamming home the match-sealing goal. 

"I couldn't say anything back because the camera's on me, so I waved. I don't know why I waved," Stringer explained.

"He was giving me a bit of stick telling me to hurry up, but I had 30 seconds on the clock so I wasn't going to hurry up. All the boys behind me were telling me to wait so it was just part of the game. They've got the rule in where you can take your 30, so why not?"

He was eventually hurried along by the umpire to take his shot, but Stringer said the moment was all in good fun.

"It's one of the reasons I love the game. You cop it off your opposition and you can give it back. It's one of the greatest parts about playing our sport, it's enjoyable," he said.