James Bell (Australian footballer)

James Bell (born 2 February 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).

James Bell
Bell playing for Sydney in July 2019
Personal information
Full name James Bell
Date of birth (1999-02-10) 10 February 1999
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 2 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2019.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

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 their round 21 fixture against Port Adelaide.[7]

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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.
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