Daniel Bell is an
Australian rules footballAustralian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er who played for the
Melbourne Football ClubThe Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
in the
Australian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL).
He was originally from the town of
Kingston SE, South AustraliaKingston SE is a town approximately 297 km southeast of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and 44 km from the town of Robe. It is at the southeastern end of Encounter Bay and the Coorong. At the 2006 census, Kingston SE had a population of 1,443.-History:The town was named after...
.
He was drafted in the
2002 AFL DraftThe 2002 AFL Draft consisted of a pre-season draft, a national draft, a trade period and the elevation of rookies. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.In 2002...
in the first round, with the 14th overall selection from the
Glenelg TigersGlenelg Football Club is an Australian rules football team, which plays in the South Australian National Football League. The club is known as the "Tigers" , and their home ground is Gliderol Stadium @ Glenelg , located in the southern coastal suburb of Glenelg East, South Australia.-Club...
in the
South Australian National Football LeagueThe South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
(SANFL). He made his debut in round 15, 2004 against the St Kilda Football Club. In 2005 he played 13 games, and in 2006 played 12 games, but was hampered by injury.
In 2007 he got a regular starting spot in the Melbourne side, playing 17 games and even scoring a goal against the
Western BulldogsThe Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
in round 7. In round 20, against
CollingwoodThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, he was involved in an incident with Collingwood's Ben Johnson. With his head over the ball, Johnson crashed into the head of Bell, and Bell lay motionless on the ground before being stretchered off the field. Bell initially feared that he might have broken his back, and he couldn’t breathe because of the impact. There were no hard feelings over the incident; however Johnson was suspended for six weeks for head high contact.
He did not play again after the incident in the 2007 season. Bell returned in 2008 to play 18 games and was mainly used as a half back flanker.
After playing only three games in 2009 and being unable to make it into the senior team in 2010, Bell was delisted at the end of the season.
External links