DUAL PREMIERSHIP DEFENDER SPENCER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

A WAFL premiership, VFL premiership, representing Western Australia, playing AFL football and being highly-respected by opponents and teammates alike are things that Matthew Spencer can now reflect fondly on after announcing his retirement on Thursday night.

The 29-year-old began his career with Swan Districts and came through the WA State 16s and 18s system before being drafted to Geelong where he played two AFL matches in 2006, won the VFL team's best and fairest in 2005 and was also a member of the Cats' VFL premiership side of 2007.

It was then back to Swan Districts in 2008 with his time with the black-and-whites culminating in the 2010 premiership in one of the most memorable grand finals of all time with Swans beating Claremont by a point.

All season long and certainly during the finals campaign, Spencer was as important a member of that Swan Districts premiership team as anyone as he put together an outstanding year at centre half-back.

Since then, Spencer and his wife made the move to country Victoria where he played with Myrtleford before the couple and their two young sons decided to come and live in Perth again.

Spencer ended up at West Perth and managed to play two league matches with the Falcons and four in the reserves, but he increasingly felt that he couldn’t commit fully to football while trying to juggle life at home and work.

As a result, he made the courageous call to bring an end to an outstanding career that took in the AFL, WAFL, VFL and a high standard of football in country Victoria.

Spencer told his West Perth teammates of his decision on Thursday night before training.

"I feel like I have let the boys down because I have made the decision halfway during the season, but I know that I couldn’t commit 100 per cent of my effort to this football club and that's what it takes to play at this level," Spencer said.

"You see AFL players who retire halfway during the season and you wonder why they did it, but when it's your time you know exactly why. You don’t know when the time is going to come, but when it does come then you know it's time to leave.

"It sort of has been a gradual thing over the last couple of months. I have been thinking about it a bit and I have sort of changed my mind a few times thinking I'll try and get through to the end of the season, which wouldn’t be fair on anybody."

Like any career that has lasted more than a decade, there have been some lows along the way but the highs for Spencer far outweigh those and he will be able to look back fondly on everything he was able to achieve.

"Since I played State 16s and from that moment it's been full on football for me over the last 11 years. Lucky enough I have been able to play in two premierships and represent the state, and I've had a knee reconstruction so there has been highs and lows," he said.

"It is an achievement to play in two premierships in two different parts of the country. Playing in a VFL grand final with Geelong was an amazing feeling and that was my first taste of playing in a premiership.

"Everyone says that when you get your first one it makes you hungrier to get your second and I was lucky enough to get one a few years later at Swans. I had planned to try and play in one this year too, but unfortunately it won't be the case."

Having already spent three years in Geelong, after being back in Perth and playing at Swan Districts for three years, football provided Spencer with another chance to explore a different part of the country and he enjoyed the chance to play in the Ovens and Murray Football League with Myrtleford.

"After I finished with Swans I had the opportunity to move to the east coast closer to my wife's family and I played in the Ovens and Murray Football League," Spencer said.

"That is a very high standard of football in country Victoria. I really enjoyed my time there and fortunately football provides a way for you to see different parts of the country and it has allowed me to do that."

However, when the decision was made to return to Perth, Spencer and family found themselves living near Joondalup and with a familiar face Ross Parker having moved from Swan Districts to West Perth, and with former Swans players Andrew Krakouer and Steve Potente, Spencer wanted to join the Falcons and is glad he did so.

"We then decided we wanted a lifestyle change of coming back to WA and I wasn’t 100 per cent sure of what I wanted to do with my football but we bought a house in Kingsley and I found out that Ross Parker was at West Perth and I told him I wouldn’t mind having a run if there was a spot for me," he said.

"Jamie Ball worked hard on getting me on board and squeezing me in with the points system and I decided I wanted to have a crack at the highest level again. I was happy to be able to break into the league team and I've enjoyed playing with the ressies boys. They are a really good group of young guys coming through and the league team is just really solid, and a good group of guys.

"The last six months have been enjoyable at this football club. They've got a really good culture and that's the thing I noticed as soon as I got here was the professionalism of the club, and how well all the boys got along. It definitely has been enjoyable being here with this group of guys and I think they will have a good year with both their reserves and league playing finals footy."

Spencer is now looking forward to spending more time with his wife and sons aged three and one, and also being able to now fully throw himself into building his career.

"I've been lucky enough to play at a high standard of footy for the last 11 years of my life after coming through underage and all of that," Spencer said.

"Looking back on it, it's been a good career and I'm actually really looking forward to the next stage of my life which is spending time with the family and working on my career. Being a local now too, I think I will bring the two young boys down to watch the Falcons play in the future. It should be great."

BY CHRIS PIKE