2009 Player Review - # 42 Jake Spencer

[sylvias dukes 9]

Big Bloke who is only young. Give him time ffs. Remember Cox was a rookie as well. He could turn out to be a dud but also could be a really good. Keep him on the rookie list for sure

[Jaded No More 68,915]

To have Spencer being competitive in the ruck contests at AFL level in his second season is remarkable.

That is spot on. I think he has the biggest scope for improvement out of all the ruckmen currently on our list (not hard), and represents terrific value for the future.

I look at Jamar, Jolly, PJ at his age, and they were hopeless, well and truly. Spencer is far from hopeless and that is despite not having much football experience (he comes from a basketballing background). If the third year rookie option wasn't made available, I'm confident we would have promoted him. He is far and away the most promising and most likely premiership ruckman on our list.

On a separate note, how terrible is our ruck division?

[demoniac 1,333]

Spencer turned 20 on October 9. 203cm and 100kg.

Tall enough to get his hand to the ball first at a ball up, strong enough to compete at throw ins. Good aggression and physicality. So key boxes ticked to be an aggresive physical first ruck. Needs to keep working on his game particularly his kicking and marking but all in all if you expected him to progress any quicker then you were always going to be disappointed and your expectations were in no way realistic.

Jamar turned 26 in August. 198cm. 100kg.

Jamar is clearly our Nm 1 Ruck. Will hopefully be injury free. Good at getting his hand to the ball first, good second efforts. Marking has improved over the last couple of years - good for swinging forward to create mismatch. Aggresive and physical. Has taken a fair while to come on but most rucks do.

Meeson turned 23 in June. 200cm. 100 Kg.

Meeson surprised me this year as a Follower. Again needs to be injury free. Competed well in the ruck, marked with his arms fully extended and used his mobility well.

Stef Martin (Turns 23 in Novembr. 198cm. 100kg) will hopefully progress up forward but has the height and strength to be swung in to the ruck when required.

Paul Johnson (Turned 25 in June. 199cm. 103kg) is the query for mine. Just does not seem to have nailed a position. Not quite a ruckman and not quite a key position player.

[Rogue 585]

That is spot on. I think he has the biggest scope for improvement out of all the ruckmen currently on our list (not hard), and represents terrific value for the future.

I look at Jamar, Jolly, PJ at his age, and they were hopeless, well and truly.

Unless you're talking about when he had a broken leg etc, PJ was a much better footballer than Spencer is at the same age.

[Jaded No More 68,915]

Unless you're talking about when he had a broken leg etc, PJ was a much better footballer than Spencer is at the same age.

But he is still not a better ruckman

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

But he is still not a better ruckman

Correct.

[Craig Drinker 179]

Spencer looked like a "Giant Tarantula" running round the MCG!.Has definitely got cult figure written all over him.

As to his footballing abilities,I thought he improved his tap ruck work quite a bit.Went to ground too easily for a big man for mine and his kicking still has a way to go.Is very,very green but will end up a very big unit.

The big questions I have are over his running ability and aerobic capacity.

Digressing a little: Why do players handball to ruckman? Surely ruckman are there to receive handballs from not dish off to! It takes them far too long to make a decision and for the actual ball to reach their foot.Do other supporters get frustrated by this? At least with some classy midfielders joing the club via the draft this practice is likely to stop.

[Nasher 33,616]

Digressing a little: Why do players handball to ruckman? Surely ruckman are there to receive handballs from not dish off to! It takes them far too long to make a decision and for the actual ball to reach their foot.Do other supporters get frustrated by this? At least with some classy midfielders joing the club via the draft this practice is likely to stop.

I agree. Axis of Bob touched on this point too. The best use for the huge blokes is as bookends when they're not involved in ruck contests. If you're using your ruckman as a link man, it says two things:

1 - you're probably not using the most effective person as a linkup, since it's doubtful your ruck is the quickest (in both pace and quickness of disposal) nor the most accurate;

2 - your ruckman has not positioned himself to be put to maximum effectiveness -- i.e. where the contests are or will be. Maybe this means he is not working hard enough.

Being where the contests are is something Jamar did really well when he played this year, and from what I gather, something he's always done really well at VFL level where the grounds are smaller.

I think if Jake can get that part right as well as remaining fierce when actually in the contests, then his shonky kicking will count for very little unless kicking for goal.

[Whispering_Jack 30,140]

I agree. Axis of Bob touched on this point too. The best use for the huge blokes is as bookends when they're not involved in ruck contests. If you're using your ruckman as a link man, it says two things:

1 - you're probably not using the most effective person as a linkup, since it's doubtful your ruck is the quickest (in both pace and quickness of disposal) nor the most accurate;

2 - your ruckman has not positioned himself to be put to maximum effectiveness -- i.e. where the contests are or will be. Maybe this means he is not working hard enough.

Being where the contests are is something Jamar did really well when he played this year, and from what I gather, something he's always done really well at VFL level where the grounds are smaller.

I think if Jake can get that part right as well as remaining fierce when actually in the contests, then his shonky kicking will count for very little unless kicking for goal.

One thing that seems to be occurring more and more in recent years is that the so called "natural born ruckman" seems to have gone out of existence. You don't get too many young ruckmen being plucked out in the first round of the draft who is top shelf in that craft from the very beginning. The most recent early draft pick ruckman who comes to mind is Brisbane's Leuenbeger and his career thus far has been hampered by injury. Before that we had Josh Fraser at Collingwood who IMO was over used in his first couple of seasons, had his share of injuries and never fulfilled his promise. I think he was pretty much on the verge this year - if someone wanted him, he probably would have been traded. Meanwhile, the Pies have used their first round draft pick twice in three years to find a ruckman. That tells me how much they respect his ability as a ruckman.

Fraser gave Jake Spencer a lesson when we played Collingwood in round 2 this year thanks to his superior experience and know how. He might beat him again if they cross each others' paths next year but after that I suspect Jake will surpass Josh. Jake has the size, the aggression and the heart needed to get him further in the future than some people think because these are the building blocks that you can build a 203cm ruckman on. Somebody just has to do a good job smoothing off the rough edges.

[Lil_red_fire_engine 11,177]

How many teams will have their first or second choice ruckman of an age younger than 21? Unless injuries hit I would hope that Spencer is not given much senior game time this year and works on developing his endurance, skills and positioning at Casey. He is very young in ruck years and needs more time at a lower level to learn his craft and grow into his body.