Jake Spencer opens up on his return to local footy after rupturing his ACL

Ex-AFL big man Jake Spencer thought he was happily retired by a surprise discovery put him on the path back to local footy with Northern club Montmorency.

Jake Spencer in action for Montmorency. Picture: Nathan McNeil

Jake Spencer through that was it for him on the footy field.

The former Melbourne AFL big man ruptured his ACL in Round 4, 2023 and missed the entire 2024 season.

However, a surprise discovery last year reignited his desire to pull on the boots again for Northern league club Montmorency.

“That was the second time I’ve done that ACL and I elected not to get the surgery,” Spencer said.

“I was pretty content to hang up the boots but, eight months later, I went for a review with the surgeon and it had naturally healed.

Jake Spencer in action for Montmorency. Picture: Nathan McNeill

“He hadn’t seen that before, particularly without me trying to get it to heal.

“That was January last year, so I thought I’d try to get back but I didn’t have the time then to do the rehab properly, so started doing it seriously this year and managed to get back about a month ago.”

The ruckman played 38 AFL games for the Demons between 2008 and 2017, stuck behind Max Gawn.

He signed with Doncaster in 2020 before the season was cancelled by COVID and crossed to Montmorency Park in 2023, forming a dynamic one-two punch with Liam Wale-Buxton.

However, injury struck early in the season and he’s served as an assistant coach since.

With the rehab done and the knee feeling good, Spencer made his return in the reserves against Hurstbridge in Round 8.

With young gun Flynn Riley getting a call-up to Carlton’s VFL side, Spencer made his senior return against Banyule a fortnight ago.

He was one of the Magpies’ best in a handsome 41-point win.

“So far, so good, the knee is holding up,” he said.

“The form, there’s still a lot to work on in terms of fitness and the defensive side of my game, but I’m relatively happy.

“It was all a bit of an unknown having been out of the game and a bit older than when I last played, so it’s good to know I can still contribute at the level.

“I thought it might be too good to be true and the knee was a ticking time bomb given I didn’t get it surgically fixed.

“So I guess arrogantly, my initial plan wasn’t to come back through the twos, I didn’t really want to do my knee again playing twos.

“Getting the reps and body contact, it was a bit more challenging than I thought and – I don’t want this to sound the wrong way, but – I was using the twos as training to get the reps in and tick the boxes.

“When I felt like I was ready I put my hand up and the timing was perfect with Flynny getting a call up to the VFL.”

Montmorency fell to a surprise loss to South Morang on Saturday and will look to bounce back when it visits Eltham this weekend.

The 203cm man mountain has been a welcome addition, given his leadership and experience, with Riley and Will Bella on VFL duties, co-captain Sam Binion and Nash Holmes sidelined and co-captain Stef Uzelac suspended.

Spencer watched from the sidelines as the Magpies lost to Heidelberg in the Division 1 grand final last year.

He’s looking forward to the challenge of holding his spot in the team and hopefully helping the club return to the big stage.

“I wasn’t sure how I was going to go, I wasn’t setting the world on fire in the twos,” he said.

“It’s a bit easier to read the play in the seniors and I was able to launch at a few kicks down the line, take a few marks and get involved in the game.

“From my perspective I definitely want to keep my spot in the team.

“Realistically, Flynny comes back for finals – if not before then – and will do the majority of the ruck work and I can find a role as a forward and second ruckman.

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“Internally, we want to go one better than last year.

“We definitely haven’t had our best side out at all this year, hopefully we can get our troops back in the last month and be primed for September.”

Despite the loss, Montmorency remains second on the ladder ahead of Greensborough on percentage.

In a razor-tight finals race, the Magpies are separated from sixth-placed North Heidelberg by just six points.