Bell still rings true

by SIONE MURRAY

RARELY does a player such as Peter Bell grace our football fields and television screens.

This weekend he will be lining up for his 223rd AFL game and his 100th with the Fremantle Football Club.

And could there be a more perfect team for the Sunday clash than the Kangaroos, with whom he forged his impressive reputation? It is almost the stuff fairytales are made of and Peter Bell's tale is almost magical.

He started his AFL career at the Fremantle in 1995 and he played just two games before being delisted. He made his way to North Melbourne and quickly gained a reputation as a prolific ball winner, a versatile position player and a good finisher.

He played in two successful premiership campaigns with North and was also nominated for the 1996 AFL rising star award. The accolades kept on coming for Bell. He won the club's best and fairest award in 2000 (he came in second and third for the award in 1999 and 1997). He also won the state of origin Graham Moss Medal in 1998 and was an All-Australian player in 1999.

In 2001 Bell returned to a struggling Freo after playing 112 games for the Kangaroos in succession. At the Dockers he was welcomed for his skill and his experience. He became captain and has won the Doig Medal three times.

His time at Fremantle hasn't been as illustrious as that at the Kangaroos but he does acknowledge that being at a club that is still developing is very exciting. At a press conference on Tuesday Bell stated that for the Dockers to be a real force in the AFL they would need to put in consistent four quarter efforts.

He also touched on the Graham Polak issue saying that it was good for him to be at the Sydney game last weekend. "It would be very hard to watch a game that you knew you were fit for."

Bell said the past is just that and the Fremantle team was focusing on the next game 100%.

And the next game is the Sunday clash with the Kangaroos - it's sure to be a good one.

Footy note: Sione Murray spent the past week on work experience at the Herald and Rooster. He's a year 10 student at Pemberton District High School. He comes to australianrules.com.au under the father-son rule. His dad Brendan was noted as arguably one of the best footy writers on Christmas Island a couple of years ago.

Peter Bell plays his 100th game for Fremantle on Sunday. The match against the Kangaroos at Subiaco Oval starts at 2.40pm. Photo by Les Everett

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