LONG-serving Demon Mark Jamar says he leaves the club with plenty of fond memories after more than a decade in the red and blue.  

Jamar, who was drafted via the AFL Rookie Draft in December 2001, spent 14 seasons with the Demons from 2002-15.

Although he will take some time out to consider his next option, Jamar said he reflected on his time at Melbourne with much pride.

“In 2010, I had my best year of footy and we probably saw some glimpses of what I could do in 2009, but I just had a lot of injuries,” he told melbournefc.com.au.  

“In 2011, I started better than 2010, but then I did a PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) in round seven and missed a chunk of footy, before coming back.

“After that, I had a couple of lean years, as did the club in 2012-13, and it was good to get almost a full year in last year and the body’s been sound this year.

“Prior to all of that, I was pretty young and probably didn’t understand what it meant to be an AFL footballer and what was involved. In 2006, I played 22 games, but apart from that I was in and out of the side through form and injury.

“It took me a while to get going, but when I got going I was able to be a strong performer.”

The 32-year-old said it had been “an emotional rollercoaster” in 2015, given he played the opening five matches of the season, before his place in the side was taken by Jake Spencer and then Max Gawn.

Jamar, who was an emergency nine times this year – including every round from round 15, except 22 – said it had been a frustrating final season.  

“I’d been performing well in the twos, but not getting a call-up at any stage was definitely hard,” he said.

“Dealing with that disappointment each week and not getting a look in for senior selection was hard. But then again, I was really enjoying playing footy and playing well with the Casey Scorpions, who has a wonderful coach in Justin Plapp.

“I’ve played with a lot of good teammates there and all of the boys from Melbourne who played for Casey each week. I really enjoyed my footy there, but mentally it was hard at times, dealing with the disappointment of not playing AFL.

“I tried to be as positive as I could and put my best foot forward, because I’ve done it for a long time now and I’ve enjoyed it.”