Meet rookie list ruckman Jake Spencer, who is set to make his first official appearance with Melbourne against Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium on Saturday. He spoke exclusively to melbournefc.com.au in the lead-up to the match.

You've been at the club for a little over 12 months. How does it feel to be playing your first official match in the red and blue this weekend?
JS: It's very exciting. Being at an AFL club for about a year now, I've really wanted to do it, so I'm very excited.

The coach has mentioned your name during the pre-season as one who has impressed him. How have you rated your pre-season?
[My name's] probably been popping up a bit, because I've been the only ruckman on the track for the whole pre-season. When one other [ruckman] has gone well, they've got injured and when another starts to go well, they've got injured, so I've been up against a different ruckman for the past two or three weeks. I'm definitely excited for the year ahead. I've done all of the pre-season and haven't really missed a session, so I'm very excited for the year ahead.

Former recruiting manager Craig Cameron (now at Richmond) was very keen to bring you to Melbourne. Can you talk about your drafting process?
I was probably told about a week before the rookie draft [in December 2007] that I was probably not going to get picked up, so I was just going to play for Redlands for another year. But then later that evening, I got a call from Craig Cameron and he said: 'We're pretty interested and we're probably going to pick you'. On the Tuesday [when the NAB AFL Rookie Draft was held], I was rookied. I actually never met Craig Cameron, so I must thank him, but I heard in the end that it was pretty much him that wanted me.

I flew down the next day. They wanted me to come down that night, but I had to get a few things before coming down. They wanted me to get settled in with my host family for about two weeks, just before Christmas. So I came down for the two weeks – I didn't really know anybody – so I felt like a fish out of water, but over the last 12 months I've really got to know the guys and now it really feels like home, so it's all good.

With club great Jeff White no longer at the club, has your confidence grown over the summer because you have sensed a greater opportunity in the ruck? 
The fact that you know everyone on the list and you've known them for 12 months, your confidence grows definitely a lot better than last year. You're not afraid to make mistakes, but with Jeff White leaving, it hasn't lowered my confidence, because the other ruckmen have been really good in helping me out when I have questions, so it's been good.

You're also competing with Mark Jamar and John Meesen as front-line ruckmen at the club. How have you found that?
It's really good. We're a little team within the midfield group. We copped a lot of stick from the midfielders last year, so we had a lot of meetings to work out where we could improve and get better.

We get little projects every two weeks on other ruckmen that we present to each other, so we're prepared against opposition ruckmen. I reckon we're getting along better and better every week.

What areas do you feel you have improved on over the pre-season?
I reckon my fitness has really improved. Last year, I didn't really do much of the pre-season, so I wasn't as fit as I could've been, whereas this year I've been really fit. I've done all of the hard work, which has given me a lot of confidence going out on the track, knowing that you've done the kilometres that gets me over the line.

Is being on an AFL list everything you thought it would be?
It's been good. I didn't really realise how much more there is to football than just training and doing the gym. There are a lot of meetings, which I didn't expect and that has been really taxing mentally, but you learn to deal with it.

I feel I understand it more, now that I've been in it for a year. The non-football side of things, like the meetings, has really surprised me.

Have you got any family or friends coming down to watch you debut in Tasmania?
Mum and Dad are going to come down. They're coming along with a few friends, who are having a bit of a look as well, so I've got a bit of support coming down, which is good. I think Dad is more excited than I am. I don't think he's got the smile off his face yet, so he's very excited.

My mum is from Melbourne. My dad's sister married Tony Kelly, who is the chairman of the [Brisbane] Lions, so he's taken our family to a few games and that got me a little bit interested in the Lions. But they've got all of their premierships out of the way, so now it's Melbourne's turn.