James Bell (Australian footballer)

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James Bell
James Bell 2019.4.jpg
Bell playing for Sydney in July 2019
Personal information
Full name James Bell
Date of birth (1999-02-10) 10 February 1999 (age 22)
Place of birth Shellharbour, New South Wales
Original team(s) Shellharbour Swans (South Coast Australian Football League)
Draft Category B Rookie Selection, 2017 rookie draft
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 81 kg (179 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Sydney
Number 32
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2019– Sydney 12 (4)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2019.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

James Bell (born 10 February 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life[]

Bell was born and raised in Shellharbour in the Illawarra region of New South Wales[1] and is of Indigenous Australian heritage (Yuin).[2] He grew up playing soccer and was linked to the Western Sydney Wanderers for a number of years as a teenager.[3] He began playing Australian rules football at the age of 13 and was placed in the Sydney Swans developmental academy shortly after.[4] When Bell was 15, he was given an ultimatum to choose between his two sporting interests and elected to pursue Australian rules football after attending a three-day training camp with his childhood idol - Sydney Swans player and two-time Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes.[5] Bell subsequently moved to Sydney and joined the club's academy program full-time. The decision paid off when the Swans elected to pre-select Bell as a Category B rookie during the 2017 AFL draft.[6]

AFL career[]

Bell made his AFL debut for Sydney in 2019 in their round 21 fixture against Port Adelaide.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ "AFL 2019: Sydney Swans team news, James Bell to debut". Daily Telegraph. 6 August 2019.
  2. ^ "AFL Indigenous Player Map 2018" (PDF). AFL Player's Association. 6 March 2018.
  3. ^ Mee, Cameron (28 November 2017). "Swans select Shellharbour junior in AFL Rookie Draft". Illawarra Mercury.
  4. ^ "Bell to do Illawara proud". Sydney Swans. 7 August 2019.
  5. ^ Rugari, Vince (23 May 2019). "Goodes passes the torch to the AFL's next Indigenous leaders". The Age.
  6. ^ Mee, Cameron (28 November 2017). "Swans select Shellharbour junior in AFL Rookie Draft". Illawarra Mercury.
  7. ^ "Bell to debut". Sydney Swans. 6 August 2019.

External links[]

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