Jake Spencer (footballer)

Jake Spencer (born 9 October 1989) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).[1] Spencer, a ruckman, is the first person from Townsville to be drafted and play in the AFL.[2]

Jake Spencer
Spencer in May 2019
Personal information
Full name Jake Spencer
Date of birth (1989-10-09) 9 October 1989
Original team(s) Redland (QAFL)
Draft No. 35, 2008 rookie draft
Debut Round 1, 2009, Melbourne
vs. North Melbourne, at MCG
Height 203 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Weight 105 kg (231 lb)
Position(s) Ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2008–2017 Melbourne 38 (8)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2017.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Spencer moved to Townsville at age 18 years of age where he played basketball, becoming an under 18 player.[2] In 2003 he began to play Australian rules football[1] and in 2007 he moved to Brisbane because:

"I couldn't really get noticed in Townsville so I moved to Brisbane to get a better standard of football. If I do become the first (Townsville product) to play AFL I would be very proud of it."[1]

He completed his schooling at Brisbane Boys College and his performances with Redland Bombers in the AFL Queensland State League gained the attention of several AFL talent scouts.[1] Spencer's uncle is Tony Kelly, chairman of the Brisbane Lions football club, one of the teams that scouted Spencer but did not select him.[1]

AFL career
Spencer at training in July 2015

Rookie list (2008-2010)

Melbourne used its 35th selection in the 2008 Rookie Draft to recruit Spencer in 2008. His first season was spent playing in the Victorian Football League with affiliate club Sandringham where he played seven games at reserves level and 10 in the seniors.[3] He made his NAB Cup debut on 21 February 2009 to encouraging reviews.[4] He played his first AFL game in Round 1 2009 and managed six games for the season. After two senior games in 2010, an injury in Round 14 prematurely ended his season. At the conclusion of the 2010 season, Spencer was promoted from the rookie list to the senior list with the 96th selection in the 2010 AFL Draft.[5]

Senior list (2011-2017)

In May 2011 Spencer suffered a season-ending knee injury, rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for VFL affiliate the Casey Scorpions.[6] He returned to the VFL in 2012 and started to improve his form.[7] In 2013, he played consistently in the VFL and was named an emergency in the AFL side a number of times, but wasn't named in the 22-man side until round 13.[8]

Throughout his AFL career, Spencer struggled to get a consistent spot in Melbourne's side, as Melbourne preferred to play only one ruckman and Max Gawn began to emerge as a great ruckman. In 2016, he wasn't able to play a single game for the Demons and remained a back-up ruckman for the club.[9] He was delisted at the conclusion of the 2017 season.[10]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2017 season[11]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles  H/O  Hit-outs
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T H/O G B K H D M T H/O
2008 Melbourne420————————————————
2009 Melbourne426011431451811670.00.22.35.27.53.01.811.2
2010 Melbourne42200281042240.00.01.04.05.02.01.012.0
2011 Melbourne420————————————————
2012 Melbourne4282028467420301670.30.03.55.89.32.53.820.1
2013 Melbourne4281323578025192130.10.42.97.110.03.12.426.6
2014 Melbourne425001327409181430.00.02.65.48.01.83.628.6
2015 Melbourne427302034549351730.40.02.84.97.71.35.024.7
2016 Melbourne330————————————————
2017 Melbourne332207101775281.00.03.55.08.53.52.514.0
Career 38 8 4 107 213 320 89 120 815 0.2 0.1 2.8 5.6 8.4 2.3 3.1 21.4

References
  1. Craddock, Robert (19 February 2009). "Townsville's Jake Spencer set for debut with Demons". CourierMail. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. Redland Bombers FC: Spencer becomes a Demon
  3. "Herald Sun Superstats: Jake Spencer". Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  4. Fox Sports: Melbourne nearly cause huge upset as Hawthorn leave it to the final seconds
  5. Burgan, Matt (11 November 2010). "Melbourne to have four 'live' draft picks". Official AFL Website of the Melbourne Football Club. Archived from the original on 28 March 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  6. "Sportal.com.au: Grimes out for season". Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  7. Burgan, Matt (8 May 2012). "Casey player review". melbournefc.com.au. Melbourne Football Club. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  8. Burgan, Matt (20 June 2013). "Clisby to debut against Saints". melbournefc.com.au. Melbourne Football Club. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  9. "Jake Spencer". melbournefc.com.au. Melbourne Football Club. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  10. Burgan, Matt (12 September 2017). "Trengove, Spencer among four list changes". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  11. "Jake Spencer statistics". AFL Tables.
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