RETIRED Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy says issues between Jake Stringer and the Dogs have been building for two seasons.

Stringer said on Tuesday he left his exit interview after Round 23 confident of his future and was “shocked and upset” when he found out he was being put up for trade.

LATEST NEWS: DID CROWS ASK ABOUT PETRACCA TRADE?

OUTSIDE INTEREST: MILES ON HIS WAY OUT OF PUNT RD

JON RALPH: WILL DELEDIO DEAL COME BACK TO HAUNT TIGERS?

But Murphy said that didn’t make sense to him after ongoing issues with the hugely talented forward.

“I find that jarring. I can’t quite see how that would possibly be,” he said on SEN.

“I think the inference there is that they pulled their punches in the exit meeting and from what I know of Luke (Beveridge) and the other management team, that doesn’t strike me as accurate.

“A young player who’s been put up for trade there will always be a sense of shock but he would also acknowledge that there’s been frustration for the last couple of years.

“The idea that a player could get to the end of the year and be shocked at where they’re at, that doesn’t (seem right). There’s been a level of frustration for a couple of years and you know after a poor year change can happen

“Having said that I’m still a little bit surprised at how quickly it’s escalated.”

Asked what Stringer had done to lose the faith of the coach, Murphy said there was “a sprinkling of a few things”.

“What I would say is he’s high talent, he’s got huge self belief, but he’s not yet a fanatic for the daily grind.”

media_camera Bob Murphy celebrates a goal with Jake Stringer.

Murphy said he hadn’t given up hope Stringer could stay at the kennel but he “couldn’t wear” a suggestion the club’s leaders were to blame for letting the relationship break down.

“If it goes through and Jake ends up being traded elsewhere all of us, particularly the people in positions of leadership this year, will have a sense of disappointing and failure that it hasn’t worked.

“But he’s 22 so I still hold out some hope that it could be patched up, but at the moment it’s very raw.”