Sprucing up the wing

The 21-year old is playing some outstanding football this season and reckons the left-back slot would be his favoured position: ?It?s a position I enjoy,? he says, ?but being on the pitch is the main thing of course,? he chuckles.
Born in Canberrra he cites Golf, Cricket and ?surfing? as his main hobbies and when posed with the question of ?Where did you learn to surf in Canberra?.Lake Burley Griffin?? the laughter punctuated answer is simple: ?I was born in Canberra but grew up in Batemans Bay?.which is where I learnt to surf.?
A ready and disarming wit, Spruce is enjoying probably his best season in the State League to date, something girlfriend Jenna is rightly proud of too.
Never too sure when the lad is ?having a laugh? he says his football heroes are Roberto Carlos, another left-back with which he feels an affinity with and, wait for it, team-mate George Souris.
?George is great to have at the back and I?ve learnt a lot from him.
?He organizes the defence well and leads by example and in football you can?t ask for any more than that from your captain,?
So where does Ben see his future?
?Obviously the A-League is a goal but like most youngsters growing up you dream about playing overseas in one of the glamour leagues of the world.
?I feel that would be a true achievement and one of the goals I would like to reach one day,? he says with true modesty.
?Another goal would be to see Liverpool play at Anfield because I?ve grown up following the side and haven?t had the opportunity to do that.?
Apart from looking up to his family ? Dad Wayne, Mum Susan and younger sisters Hannah and Erin ? and thanking them for their support over the years, what does the lad quote as his greatest achievement in the game to date after beginning his football career with Southern Branch and Sutherland Juniors?
?I was selected to represent Australia at schoolboy level and managed to score a goal against England, which was a real buzz.
?I would love to represent Australia again, I?m very proud to have been selected to play for my country, it?s an honour.?
Good call from the youngster but one last question about Australia and football in general, did he have a favourite Australian player?
?I would have to say Robbie Slater because of the dogged determination he showed and the passion he evoked in the green and gold and throughout his playing career.?
The Sharks have an exceptional crop of talent at Seymour Shaw this season, both on and off the pitch, and in Spruce they have a player that is increasing his with each game.