Sole selection at draft forced rethink of West's football programs
IT WAS the draft that shocked an entire State.
It may be hard to fathom, but Daniel Wells was the only Western Australian footballer deemed worthy of selection at the 2002 AFL national draft.
That's right, just one player from a proud State with more than a century of football tradition.
As you can imagine, local talkback radio went into meltdown with punters demanding answers and all sorts of maladies offered as explanations.
It's a far cry from today where a plethora of talent from the West are set to dominate proceedings at the latest instalment of the AFL's version of Powerball lotto.
In the 2002 version, North Melbourne saw something in Wells and used their first round second pick to nab the youngster from WAFL club Peel Thunder.
For his part, Wells said it was quite strange to be the sole recruit.
"It felt a bit weird at the time; being the only one was disappointing," he said yesterday.
The WA 'failure' at that draft forced the State's football power-brokers into a major overhaul of its development programs. The outcome of that can be seen in subsequent drafts.
Wells, then, was something of a catalyst for change in WA.
"I was just in the right place at the right time," he said.
"It's good that something good has come from something not so good. They (WA football) are leading the way at the moment, they've really picked it up and now they might have the top three or four players drafted."
"They're a very proud State, WA, especially with their footy."
Community involvement
WELLS and Kangaroos team-mate Matthew Campbell had just returned from Yarram in Victoria's Gippsland region where they were guests at a nearby facility that will help reduce the number of young Indigenous men in the justice system.
"Sometimes you get stuck in your own bubble in Melbourne so it's good to get out like that," Wells said.
"Some of the boys maybe coming for a return visit at Arden Street some time in the future."
Wells this week represented the Kangaroos at an AFL function to support White Ribbon Day, which aims to end violence against women.
* Wells was just one of three Aboriginal players selected at the 2002 national draft
* More info at the link above: AFL Players > AFL Draft: 1986 to 2007
DARREN MONCRIEFF
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Friday, November 28, 2008
Last Modified on 28/11/2008 01:52