Jake Spencer (born 9 October 1989) is a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). Spencer, a ruckman, is the first person from

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

to be drafted and play in the AFL.Redland Bombers FC: Spencer becomes a Demon
/ref>

Early life

Spencer moved to Townsville at age 18 years of age where he played basketball, becoming an under 18 player. In 2003 he began to play Australian rules football 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."

He completed his schooling at

Brisbane Boys College (Let Honour Stainless Be) , established = 1902 , type = Independent, single-sex, day and boarding , denomination = Presbyterian and Uniting Church , slogan = , headmaster = André Casson , city = Toowong , state = Queensland , country ...

and his performances with Redland Bombers in the

AFL Queensland State League The Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) is an Australian rules football competition organised by the AFL Queensland, contested by clubs from South East Queensland. Previously known as the Queensland Football League (QFL), Queensland ...

gained the attention of several AFL talent scouts. Spencer's uncle is Tony Kelly, chairman of the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

football club, one of the teams that scouted Spencer but did not select him.

AFL career

Rookie list (2008-2010)

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 The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

with affiliate club where he played seven games at reserves level and 10 in the seniors. He made his

NAB Cup In the Australian Football League (AFL), previously the Victorian Football League (VFL), the pre-season competition, known during its history by a variety of sponsored names and most recently as the NAB Cup, was an annual Australian rules footba ...

debut on 21 February 2009 to encouraging reviews. 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.

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 . He returned to the VFL in 2012 and started to improve his form. 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. 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 Max Gawn (born 30 December 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A ruckman, 208 cm tall and weighing 108 kg, Gawn is capable of contributing in both ...

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. He was delisted at the conclusion of the 2017 season.

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2017 season'' , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , , 42 , , 0 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , , 42 , , 6 , , 0 , , 1 , , 14 , , 31 , , 45 , , 18 , , 11 , , 67 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 2.3 , , 5.2 , , 7.5 , , 3.0 , , 1.8 , , 11.2 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , , 42 , , 2 , , 0 , , 0 , , 2 , , 8 , , 10 , , 4 , , 2 , , 24 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 4.0 , , 5.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 12.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , , 42 , , 0 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , , 42 , , 8 , , 2 , , 0 , , 28 , , 46 , , 74 , , 20 , , 30 , , 167 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 3.5 , , 5.8 , , 9.3 , , 2.5 , , 3.8 , , 20.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, , , 42 , , 8 , , 1 , , 3 , , 23 , , 57 , , 80 , , 25 , , 19 , , 213 , , 0.1 , , 0.4 , , 2.9 , , 7.1 , , 10.0 , , 3.1 , , 2.4 , , 26.6 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , , 42 , , 5 , , 0 , , 0 , , 13 , , 27 , , 40 , , 9 , , 18 , , 143 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.6 , , 5.4 , , 8.0 , , 1.8 , , 3.6 , , 28.6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , , 42 , , 7 , , 3 , , 0 , , 20 , , 34 , , 54 , , 9 , , 35 , , 173 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 2.8 , , 4.9 , , 7.7 , , 1.3 , , 5.0 , , 24.7 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , , 33 , , 0 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, , , 33 , , 2 , , 2 , , 0 , , 7 , , 10 , , 17 , , 7 , , 5 , , 28 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.5 , , 5.0 , , 8.5 , , 3.5 , , 2.5 , , 14.0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, 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

External links

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Demon Wiki profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Jake Australian rules footballers from Queensland Melbourne Football Club players Redland Football Club players 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Townsville Casey Demons players Sandringham Football Club players