Jake Spencer

[Mad_Melbourne 877]

he is definately a trier, has immense room for improvement in marking under pressure and disposal, but he definately got into the right positions, rucked okay, so that was a positive

he looked much quicker and covered the field better this week aswell.

definately worth keeping him on the list, as i think in 5-6 years with 10 odd kilos on him, even though he already weighs 100 kilos, as he was often outbodied, could be a good prospect.

also watts, the fact is his work ethic is amazing, his field kicking is not bad at all, the match was good and he was an important player, but not his break out game yet.

i am going to call this week as his break out game, i am tipping watts for 22 disposals 4 goals in a good win for the mfc. :}

[Adzman 2,154]

Spencer is far from ready to play at the top level. That said, PJ, Meesen and bigs such as Newton and Miller are done at the MFC. The truth is, Gawn and Fitzy are still miles away from being able to mix it up. Spencer at present, is our best #2 ruck purely based on potential.

What happens next?? Play him every game we can. This spells Jamar, and lets us know whether or not to pursue Spencer next season. My gut feeling is that he will be given a 1-2 year contract on the senior list if he can show any sign of being a good player at the top level.

I am not big on him right now, but we really have not other options for this season. PJ and Meesen are clearly two guys that will be off the vets/rookie list next season.

2011 the competition will start for the second ruck spot between Gawn/Fitzy and Spencer.

[Theo 272]

Spencer is far from ready to play at the top level. That said, PJ, Meesen and bigs such as Newton and Miller are done at the MFC. The truth is, Gawn and Fitzy are still miles away from being able to mix it up. Spencer at present, is our best #2 ruck purely based on potential.

What happens next?? Play him every game we can. This spells Jamar, and lets us know whether or not to pursue Spencer next season. My gut feeling is that he will be given a 1-2 year contract on the senior list if he can show any sign of being a good player at the top level.

I am not big on him right now, but we really have not other options for this season. PJ and Meesen are clearly two guys that will be off the vets/rookie list next season.

2011 the competition will start for the second ruck spot between Gawn/Fitzy and Spencer.

I would be very cautious about elevating Spencer the the senior list at this stage. Given that we will probably have a minimum of 2 or 3 picks in the National draft and elevate McKenzie, we will have to delist 4 or more players at years end. Miller, Bell, Johnson, and Dunn are the obvious ones that are out of contract. A decision will have to be made on McNamara who I believe is out of contract. There's very few if any others out of contract.

McDonald and Bruce are on the veteren's list so they don't count.

If we elevate Spencer we have very little room to move. I would take a punt and delist him with the view of selecting him as a rookie again if available.

We will have a good chance of picking up someone like Daniel Gorringe in the draft who is All-Australian ruck and

KP forward. A natural footballer, not a project player like Spencer. Big raps on this kid.

Edited July 5, 2010 by Theo

[Cranky Franky 2,055]

Mate if you think Sylvia wasn't doing too badly on the ball you were either asleep or mad because every time Sylvia went into the ruck the opposition scored goals at will.

Spencer is a long term project but should rest on the bench not in the forward pocket.

[jumbo returns 6,741]

I would be very cautious about elevating Spencer the the senior list at this stage. Given that we will probably have a minimum of 2 or 3 picks in the National draft and elevate McKenzie, we will have to delist 4 or more players at years end. Miller, Bell, Johnson are the obvious ones that are out of contract. A decision will have to be made on McNamara who I believe is out of contract. There's very few if any others out of contract.

McDonald and Bruce are on the veteren's list so they don't count.

If we elevate Spencer we have very little room to move. I would take a punt and delist him with the view of selecting him as a rookie again if available.

We will have a good chance of picking up someone like Daniel Gorringe in the draft who is All-Australian ruck and

KP forward. A natural footballer, not a project player like Spencer. Big raps on this kid.

He sounds (potentially) an excellent addition, but will he still be available once the Gold Coast have all their picks?

[Theo 272]

He sounds (potentially) an excellent addition, but will he still be available once the Gold Coast have all their picks?

Swallow, Day, Bennell, or Gaff could go to the GC with their first 3 picks. If they select Gorringe there are plenty of other highly rated or All-Australian picks available. The second best rated ruckman is Scott Lycett (202cm 95kg). A tap ruckman that is good around the ground. The Dees would probably go for the best available player rather than a ruckman.

Lucas Cook (KP forward), Matt Watson (194cm 99kg) could be a great addition at FB.

Midfielders in Luke Parker, Shaun Atley, Brodie Smith, Mitch Hallahan were all selected in the All-Australian team and could be available in our first selection. I hope we go for a Gorringe or a kP player in Cook or Watson.

Edited July 6, 2010 by Theo

[Redleg 40,902]

I really liked his game on the weekend. I thought it was a really positive step for him to compete with a guy like Gardiner and look pretty good against him in ruck contests.

The co-ordination with really tall players can often take time. As they grow they have more control over their limbs and he's starting to fill out. This is something that will naturally improve with time.

What he does have is really good aggression for the ruck contests and great competitiveness. As the game becomes more about the quick transitions and games played at high speed, the role of a ruckman around the ground becomes less important. What is important is their ability to influence the contests in close through aggression and bodywork, just like Jamar has been doing this year. Spencer works hard around the stoppages and is actually very good in ruck contests, which is unusual this early in a project ruckman's career.

Look at Darren Jolly, the poster boy for aggressive tap ruckmen, in his first games and see how effective he was in the ruck. He played 22 games in his first 2 years, averaging 5.2 hitouts per game. Jake is younger than Jolly at that point is his career and is averaging 11.4 hitouts per game, include games of 16, 20 and 17 (this weekend) hitouts, all of which were better that any of Jolly's first 22 games.

As for disposals, it wasn't until 2008 that Jolly averaged more than 10 disposals a game. Spencer averages 6.9 at the moment, which isn't too bad for a player of his style at this stage of his career and his age.

People judge these sorts of players far too early. He looks uncoordinated, so people automatically judge that he's no good and no amount of what he actually does will change their opinion. I think Spencer was good on the weekend for the most part, very promising at stages, and I'm very happy with how he is progressing.

Agree and good post. I love the way people can write off a ruckman who hasn't even got close to his 21st birthday.

[Go the Biff 3,414]

I'm just going to echo the thoughts of a few earlier posters such as Axis of Bob & Jaded. I also think Spencer is ahead of Jamar at the same stage of their careers. His ruckwork is good to watch - he is not just a bash it forward type, he tries to spoon feed his midfielders with directed taps.

His kicking is inconsistent but more than once I have seen him hit a leading player lace out on the [censored]. He has an awkward looking low ball drop (not unlike Frawley) but when he gets it right, it's very effective. That said, I've also seen him miss the ball completely.

He's also brave & relishes body contact, something that Jolly could never have been accused of at the same age.

He will make mistakes (e.g. spilled chest mark on the wing), he is probably a liability at the moment in that he costs us a running mid when he's in the side but for a 19-20 yo ruckman, I think he shows a bit.

And as I recall he lost a chunk of the season along with a bit of weight when he was crook earlier on.

[Demon Disciple 12,120]

We're under absolutely no obligation to promote anybody to the senior list regardless of how long they've been on our rookie list.

If that's the case, then it is good news. Not to be mean to Spencer, but he is not deserving for a call up to the senior list, even with our lack of ruck options at present.

[Je Roos Salem 661]

mixed feelings about Spencer. Very unpredictable player, obviously in the opening minutes on sunday he dropped an uncontested mark over the boundary line. But I think he presents well, competes well in the ruck, and can kick it well. He's certainly a funny player to watch