Jake Spencer. Has he begun to turn the corner?

[Guest]

Big Spencil has copped a lot from supporters over the years, mostly to do with his distinct lack of ability to kick the ball where he is intending to. But you cannot question the kid's heart, he is aggressive, gutsy, and extremely quick for a big bloke.

His tackle on Yarran yesterday shows the strength he has gained recently, and his tap-work has improved immensely. Yes, he struggled in round two and three, but that was against Mumford, Cox and Naitanui.

In my opinion, if he can improve his marking further (enough to be able to rest forward), he will be our number one ruckman for a few years to come.

Don't get me wrong, I like Max Gawn, but Spencer's willingness to give his all for the club makes him (at this stage) my preferred choice going forward.

What do we think, DL?

[Guest]

Perhaps. I think however, right now, he needs support. I'm not comfortable with us playing one ruckman but right now we have no choice. When Gawnus Maximumus or Jamar are fit and in form, they should be put in to give him a break. Spencil will be more effective for it.

[cowboy_from_hell 2,390]

Not sure if the talk was on here or from melbourne interviews about trusting your team mates and kicking the ball to players in a contest. It was obvious on the weekend that no matter who it was be it Watts,Dawes,Bail or Spencil they were given a chance to contest for marks. Even with Spencil's kicking woes he did get a chance to take on Warnock in the air. Ruckmen who can get possessions around the ground are worth their weight in gold. It is why Jamar was a All Australian. If Jake can clunk a few contested marks around the ground his confidence will build. He already busts his gut, throws his weight around and tackles so effort is not his problem.

[Carlos Danger 380]

Was awesome on Saturday, loved the aggression (even if he gifted Murphy a goal early) and his disposal was really good.

Been highly sceptical of Spencer the whole way through but he converted me on Saturday. He looked a genuine AFL ruckman.

[Frosty Demon 153]

I think you could be right.

Obviously he needs to improve in a few areas but his size strength and speed make him quite unique. He definitely needs to be coached to take the game on more and use these natural attributes. Like Mumford he should be smashing into opponents and tackling hard. He has the pace to chase anyone down. These sort of acts in a team game really boost the moral and we need plenty of this.

IMO Jamar is finished, need to see more of Gawn but I did like what I saw at times from him last year; he did seem to have an uncanny knack of accidentally hurting others a bit like Earl Spaulding. Spencer is like this as well. We need to hurt the opposition and put a bit of terror into them like the way big strawbs used to.

We also have another young ruckman that looked pretty good pre season don't we?

[Deez 298]

yeh max king. He's still young but he looks a good prospect. didn't look entirely out of his depth in the nab cup. he's reasonably built already.

[Frosty Demon 153]

Yeah I thought he looked quite at home.

[Sir Why You Little 37,342]

Just finished watching the replay.

Spencer was outstanding.

Now we know he can do it. How often is the key.

But top effort for saturday without a doubt.

[old dee 24,028]

Spencer has one big advantage over Gawn.

He is on the Park!

[chook fowler 19,735]

Max is still very young and will become a beast in time. I think the fact that he looks older than he is raises expectations

[Forest Demon 4,681]

Spencer punished a woeful Warnock, but still has a little way to go to compete and at least neutralise against the league's better ruckmen. But he is definitely improving.

Jamar is just about cooked and Jake is a much better option than Gawn as a full time ruckman until Gawn can run a game out in the ruck at the very least.

[old dee 24,028]

Spencer punished a woeful Warnock, but still has a little way to go to compete and at least neutralise against the league's better ruckmen. But he is definitely improving.

Jamar is just about cooked and Jake is a much better option than Gawn as a full time ruckman until Gawn can run a game out in the ruck at the very least.

Has not played a game anywhere for so long I have forgotten when the last one occurred.

Any chance of a game anywhere this side of July?

[autocol 448]

I'm all aboard the Spencil train.

[DeeSpencer 26,496]

Spencer has now clearly beaten Hickey and Warnock for influence on games. And he wasn't disgraced against West Coast's 3 prong attack. Being taken apart by Mumford wasn't pretty but it happened, you move on.

I like that we have Spencer and Gawn on the list. Sure if they play together it might cause problems in lack of run but I think Gawn forward can be a real weapon once he takes his goal kicking at VFL level to AFL level. Either way they should push each other for the next 5 or more years in to becoming above average ruckmen and they provide injury cover for each other. It's always easier to find a back up just to do 20% in the ruck and play forward. Look at Jessie White, the pies got him for not much at all. And Fitzy supported by proper tall forwards (ie. Dawes, Hogan, Frawley or Dunn) can probably do the same once he's back in form. Unfortunately Clark is gone because he would've been a star in the same circumstances.

Anyway the only thing we need to do with Spencer right now is make sure he's getting the right amount of rest. He's fit but not super human. I think they left him on the field for too long in the first half against Carlton. And I don't think he should ever rest forward when he's the number 1 ruck with no proper support player. Without knowing anything about fitness I'd be trying to get him 7 minutes on, 2 minutes off and never worrying about him going forward.

[Biffen 12,949]

BBo was right behind Frank last week-

I wasn't.

Him and Max will be awesome for us.

[Earl Hood 6,152]

Which corner has he turned that is the question! A good tier, I hope he gets better. Gawn, well when will he be fit to,play? Jamar looks to be Gawn.

How much did GWS pay for Mumford I wonder? That could have been a deal worth pursuing. Mummy is injured this week but if fit he can dominate games in the middle and go forward. Sydney will rue the decision to off load him, I think.

[Moonshadow 17,678]

Yes, this will be a very interesting year for our current ruck stocks.

Spencil has played barely more than a handful of games and is giving it a good crack. Love his endeavour, 2nd and 3rd efforts and he's now starting to take a few marks and getting his foot to hit the ball occasionally. Roos will love his effort and determination. Has grunt but not sure about smarts. When a guy lacking in skills throws everything he has at the contest, it's hard not to have a soft spot for him.

Jamar is anyone's guess. On the wrong side of 30, but with considerable experience. I'm not a fan - doesn't tap effectively, barely takes a contested mark or kick a goal these days. We've seen him do it in the past, but rarely since AA with Beamer at his feet.

Max Gawn needs to show us he can get a good run of games under his belt. He has ability, but needs to get on the park more. He's young and hopefully worth the wait. Can play forward and snag a goal.

And there's Max King....

I know we have come off 7 bad years, but I honestly believe that with another couple of high quality midfielders, a bang on ruckman and a good run with injuries, we will become a very competitive unit. Maybe Roos et al will go shopping for these at season's end...

[KingDingAling 3,758]

Spencer had a reasonable game against St Kilda.

Everyone still called for him to be sacked though.

[titan_uranus 25,212]

I think he learnt a lot from the towelling he got from Mumford about how to throw his weight around in the stoppages and be properly aggressive.

Watching the replay he certainly exerted a lot of pressure and influence in the stoppages and was so immensely dominant over the enormous walking spud that is Warnock. Hopefully he can back it up and can keep rucking 80% of the game.

I'm not sure how our ruck situation is going to play out long term. Originally Clark would have been the second ruck. I'm not sure if we are going to play a side with two of Spencer, Jamar and Gawn in it, so if we only go with one, we'll have to keep rucking Pedersen or something, which isn't ideal.

[angrydee 842]

He's finally found the corner. So he's finally on his way.

If he keeps improving, he'll turn it.

[What 18,810]

Great to have a guy in the team who loves to physically hurt the opposition and loves to punch on

Amazing tackler for a 203 cm giant

He will frustrate with skill errors but he has massive heart and bleeds for the jumper

[Akum 2,660]

Was interesting late in Q4 when Pedo had to go off because of the blood rule and Spencer had to come back on. They could both hardly run to get off and on the field respectively. Whatever is said about their skill, they both left nothing out on the ground, they gave it absolutely everything they had.

[P-man 13,367]

At the start of the season, Grimes nominated him as the breakout player for 2014. Time will tell but it was a decent step forward that he took on Saturday.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

I can't wait until Gawn is fit.

Spencer was certainly better but he will still struggle against good ruckmen.

[Dee Fan 3,247]

I can't wait until Gawn is fit.

Spencer was certainly better but he will still struggle against good ruckmen.

That's true but he will get better as he matures and gets more games under the belt. He will continue to play some games below standard from time to time, but hopefully they will be fewer and further between.