Jake Lever

Jake Lever (born 5 March 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

A defender, 1.95 m tall and weighing 89 kg, Lever plays primarily as a half-back and is known for his intercept marking and ability to read the play.

Originally from Romsey, Victoria, he played top-level football at a young age when he played with the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup, and represented and captained Victoria in the AFL Under 18 Championships as a bottom-aged player.

He suffered a serious knee injury which forced him to miss the entire season in his final junior year.

Lever was born to Alan and Narelle Lever on 5 March 1996 and was raised in Romsey, Victoria.

He started his junior football career with the Romsey-Lancefield Rangers in the Riddell District Junior Football League at eight years of age.

After playing as a midfielder and forward throughout his junior career, he played full-back in the 2011 Under 15 Victorian Championships and played in the back-line again the next year in the Under-16 National Championships for Victoria Metro despite kicking thirty-three goals in three weeks in the Romsey under-16s; in the same season, he captained the Calder Cannons at under 16 level.

He played senior football with the Romsey Football Club in the Riddell District Football League at sixteen years of age and played in the grand final in 2012.

In late 2012, Lever received a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) when he was named in the AIS/AFL Academy level one squad as part of their 2013 intake.

In addition to football, Lever was an avid boxer and was nearly chosen to compete in the 2012 London Olympics.

He played for the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup as a bottom-aged player in 2013.

He played fourteen matches for the season, including the preliminary final loss to the Dandenong Stingrays, and finished third in the best and fairest count.

He averaged eighteen disposals, five rebound 50s and three intercept marks for the season.

He received mid-year honours when he represented Vic Metro in the 2013 AFL Under 18 Championships, playing in four matches and captaining one of the matches despite being a bottom-aged player.

In November 2013, as part of academy training, he jarred his knee which scans later revealed he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Despite being one of the top prospects heading into the 2014 AFL draft, he slipped through to pick fourteen and was recruited by the Adelaide Football Club.

For the second consecutive year, Lever was a part of the AIS/AFL Academy when he was named in the level two squad as part of the 2014 intake.

He spent the 2014 season in the coaches box with the Calder Cannons and Vic Metro, a move which he later described was motivated by wanting to coach after finishing his playing career.

Despite missing the entire season due to the knee injury, he was still being touted as a top ten draft pick and was described by AFL Media journalist, Callum Twomey, as a "competitive and aggressive tall defender who can shut down opponents while also providing good rebound...his leadership is excellent as is his work rate and feel for the game."

He started the sport in year seven to stay fit during the football off-season and had planned to participate in amateur fights during 2014, but was unable to due to his knee injury.

Heading into the 2014 national draft, Lever was linked to the Melbourne Football Club and was predicted to be selected as high as Melbourne's pick two or three, however, he slipped through to the Adelaide Football Club's first selection and fourteenth overall in the draft.

He made his debut during the 2015 season and received an AFL Rising Star nomination.

He spent three seasons at Adelaide, in which he played in a grand final, was named in the All-Australian squad, named in the 22under22 team three times, and won the emerging talent award at Adelaide.

After the coaching staff elected to take a cautions approach with Lever and not play him in the 2015 NAB Challenge, he played his first match in over eighteen months when he played in a South Australian National Football League (SANFL) trial match against in early April.

He made his SANFL debut in Adelaide's first match of the year in the three point loss to at Prospect Oval in round two and was named in Adelaide's best players.

After playing in a handful of matches in the SANFL, his form was publicly praised by then-Adelaide coach, Phil Walsh, and he was named to make his AFL debut in round six against at Metricon Stadium.

He recorded seventeen disposals at eighty-eight percent efficiency, ten marks and three tackles.

In his fourth match, he recorded seventeen disposals and five marks in the eleven point loss to at the Adelaide Oval in round nine and was named in the AFL Media's team of the week.

In the same match, he injured his ankle which saw him miss three weeks of football before returning through the SANFL.

He returned to the senior side for the round fifteen match against at Domain Stadium.

Two weeks later in his seventh AFL match, he was named the round nominee for the AFL Rising Star after recording twenty-four disposals at ninety-two percent efficiency, ten marks and seven rebound-50s in the forty-five point win against Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval in round seventeen.

He was highly praised for his performance in the match by Adelaide's caretaker coach, Scott Camporeale, who said "he's a great competitor...he's going to be a 200-game player of this footy club and a real leader."

He played the remainder of the home and away season apart from the round twenty-one match against at the Adelaide Oval due to being rested.

Despite the club qualifying for finals, he was omitted for the finals campaign and played twelve matches in total for the season.

His season was commended by his coaches due to his maturity and professional approach and he received the Dr Brian Sando OAM Trophy, in addition to Adelaide's defensive coach, Darren Milburn, stating Lever could become one of the AFL's elite defenders.

He was recognised as one of the top young players in the competition when he finished fourth in AFL Players Association (AFLPA) best first year player award, eighth in the AFL Rising Star award and was named as the centre half-back in the 22under22 team.

Lever's second season saw him play every match for the year averaging sixteen disposals and five marks from twenty-four matches, in addition to finishing sixth in the league for intercept possessions with 176.

His continual growth in defence drew public approval from the media including The Advertiser's journalists, Scott Walsh and Reece Romfray, with the former highlighting his "ability to read, and squash, opposition entries to the forward 50" and the latter stating he was the "captain in waiting" for Adelaide.

He was commended for his performance in the fifty-eight point win against in round two by former Port Adelaide player, Kane Cornes, who labelled the match his break out game, in which he recorded nineteen disposals, ten marks and six rebound 50s.

After fifty-six matches with Adelaide, he joined the Melbourne Football Club during the 2017 trade period.