Matthew Spencer, Geelong's fourth and final pick (No. 42) on Saturday, is keen to extinguish that myth and embark on a long and illustrious AFL career.
The 194cm, 89kg centre half-forward, who was drafted from WAFL side Swan Districts, has received glowing character references, and he certainly knows who to impress when he arrives at the Cattery.
“I'm just going to try and gain the respect of the players and the coaching staff in the first half of the season, just train as hard as I can, keep backing myself and show that I'm a hard worker,'' Spencer said.
“If I can crack one game that would be an awesome achievement I reckon, but I don't know how far off I am from playing at AFL level.
“I think I've got a pretty good physique, I'm pretty well built, it's just the pace of the game that's going to be the tester.''
The 18-year-old is described as a team-oriented player, with a strong overhead mark and good strength and stamina.
Spencer captained the Western Australian under-18 side this year and has a long list of achievements to go with it.
He won the Jack Clarke medal as the the WA Colts competitions' best and fairest, despite playing only 12 games, before being elevated to the Swan Districts reserves late in the campaign.
“We thought that at pick 42, with the ability and the character he's shown, he's going to give it everything he's got and may well develop into a very good player for us,'' Geelong recruiting manager Stephen Wells said.
“When we picked the two running players with our first two picks, we thought it would be a nice balance to get a taller player if we could and Matthew was one of the taller players that we did rank quite well.''
Spencer said he placed little expectation on himself leading up to the draft and admits being surprised when receiving a call from his mum while working in a clothing store Saturday morning.
