Thursday night might’ve felt like a bad nightmare for Bombers fans at times as Jake Stringer turned it on against Essendon in his first time playing against his former side.

But Bombers coach Brad Scott says he’s “very pleased” to see Stringer thriving at the Giants.

Stringer was instrumental in GWS’ 48-point win over Essendon at Marvel Stadium, kicking three goals and assisting another to Max Gruzewski in a particularly selfless moment in one of his finest performances yet for his third club.

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Stringer even showed off some party tricks with a big mark in front of good mate Jayden Laverde in the third quarter to set up his second goal, saying it would “be my phone wallpaper for the next six weeks.”

It came after the 31-year old was traded to the Giants at the end of last season in search of a longer deal, despite hitting a 2025 contract trigger with the Bombers.

But there’s no bad blood on Scott’s end, with the Essendon coach describing Stringer’s move as a “win-win” both parties as they go down different paths.

Jake Stringer catches up with Zach Merrett and Andrew McGrath post match (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

“Jake did what Jake does, he’s an impact player,” Scott told reporters post-match.

“When his team is playing well, he can finish as well as anyone.

“Despite what people may think – and I’d prefer it wasn’t tonight – but I’m very pleased for him.

“He wanted to prolong his career, we’re going in a different direction. I see the result there as a win-win.”

Giants boss Adam Kingsley said he didn’t coach Stringer any differently this week in the build up to playing his old team.

“He’s a very intelligent player. He sees the game incredibly well. He’s a smart guy and didn’t need any coaching,” Kingsley said.

“He was quite nervous coming into the game, but I thought he played with a lot of respect and competed hard.

“Took a mark on one of his best mates, so I think he was pretty happy with that.”

Jake Stringer shined against Essendon (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Stringer continued his strong form after a season-best four-goal display against Geelong last week as he begins to hit his straps at the right time.

The mercurial forward on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 described his Round 15 showing against Gold Coast – when he kicked two goals in the fourth quarter to help spur a comeback win after starting the game as a sub – as the moment he felt he made a real impression at GWS.

Kingsley also suggested that Suns game was a defining performance for Stringer, praising the veteran’s ability to impact in multiple areas.

“When we decided to bring him across, this is what we had in mind. He’s going to contribute to our game both on offence and defence,” Kingsley said.

“He’s going to be able to kick goals for us and create goals. He’s been able to do that since the Gold Coast game.”

The Giants coach labelled Stringer’s selfless approach – including that goal assist to Gruzewski — his “trademark” over the last month.

“He’s been able to kick some miraculous goals, particularly that Gold Coast game. But then the West Coast game you saw real selfless giving goals off when he had every right to take those shots,” Kingsley added.

“We saw that again tonight, running into an open goal and handballs to Max in the goalsquare.

“We’ve been really pleased with him and his intent to chase, tackle and pressure. It feels like it’s at a really good level and he creates some scores for us off the back of that.

“We know when that ball is kicked to him, particularly in a low-level contest, he’s so hard to play on. He can win the ball in the air or on the ground.”