Essendon coach Brad Scott has put the onus on star Jake Stringer to deliver more than “flashes of brilliance” as the forward enters the final year of his contract.

Stringer, who is nearing the end of a three-year deal he signed with Essendon, has managed just 21 and 25 goals in his last two seasons following a 41-goal, 19-game campaign in 2021.

With much external discussion about his form and fitness, Scott told The Age the onus was on the 29-year-old to improve.

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“I’m a strength-based coach and I more than anyone love the great things that Jake can bring to the game of AFL footy, but there are things that are non-negotiables,” Scott said.

“In the modern game, you can’t just have flashes of brilliance, then not do the other things that are required as part of a team.

“And Jake’s been very explicit in saying he needs to uphold his end of the bargain on that, so Jake’s had a lot to deal with, and again they’re not excuses, but they are reasons.

“He’s had injuries, he’s been dealing with – which he’s put on the public record – he’s been dealing with some mental health issues away from footy that he’s had to address and, you know, he’s had the courage to actually address them and speak about it publicly.”

Scott added he was of the view “sometimes you need to take a few steps back to straighten some things out”, expressing the hope Stringer could do that.

Stringer opened up on his struggles and his off-season to date in a wide-ranging interview with Channel 7 presenter and Bombers legend Tim Watson, with the 29-year old optimistic about the year ahead and what the club can achieve.

Stringer said he was feeling “really good” after overcoming a foot issue last year and that an emphasis on his mental health had, in turn, helped his body.

“It’s probably the best mentally I’ve been and that’s probably helping physically as well. So I’d say in that sense, it probably is the best pre-season I’ve had so far,” Stringer told 7 News Melbourne.

“When I had my foot surgery I just really tried to figure out things in my life that I really needed to figure out, and there’s things that I will continue to work on all the way through.”

He continued: “I’ve had troubles throughout my whole career. There’s things that I’m sure at a later date I’ll speak about it but at the minute I’m just in that building block process.

“It got to a stage where I had to do something, and I went and did that in the off-season. I’m finding myself now in a very good position to be able to tackle a full AFL season.”

Essendon faces St Kilda on Friday in match simulation before taking on Geelong one week later in a Community Series clash.