Some stern words from coach Luke Beveridge to forward Jake Stringer helped set up a dramatic come-from-behind Bulldogs victory over Richmond at Etihad Stadium last night.

A missed tackle on Richmond hard nut Anthony Miles in the third quarter saw the 23-year-old summoned to the bench, where Beveridge was waiting on the line.

“I thought he’d handballed it and I sort of let him go but he still had it, and I was pretty flat,“ Stringer told Channel Seven's Game Day on Sunday.

“After he kicked the goal my rotation was about five minutes later and the runner was, ‘Jake, you’ve got to come off’, and I was like, oh no.”

So what exactly did the coach say? Stringer was tight lipped.

“I don’t know whether I can say much on television," Stringer laughed.

“He just told me that a couple of my efforts were pretty poor and to give the boys something in the second half of the third quarter and into the last quarter.

“I needed to lift my intensity and try and lift us a little.”

And lift he did, a vintage Stringer performance almost singlehandedly dragging the Dogs to a 10-point win after trailing by 14 points late in the third quarter.

The lead changed five times in an intense final stanza, but Stringer saved the day with four second half goals, including three in the critical last term to secure the Dogs the win.