The Bombers have also been forced to replace their best player in the first round, Nic Martin, who kicked five goals on debut to earn a Rising Star nomination, as he was placed in the COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

Rutten said it was unclear how much time Stringer would spend forward and how much time he would spend in the midfield, but he was confident the player and the medical team would make good decisions.

“Part of it will be us prescribing [where he plays] and part of it will be up to Jake,” Rutten said. “He’s got a great feel for the game.”

The Bombers’ midfield was demolished by the Cats with Rutten suggesting the performance was an aberration as he knew the team was capable of performing much better than they did.

He said looked forward to a response from his players as they took on the strong Lions’ midfield.

“We are really confident in the work we have done,” Rutten said.

“We don’t want to live in last week. [The] guys will be jumping out of their skin.”

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