Jared Bell - A Young Player On The Rise

Little much was know of Jared Bell when he first arrived at the Perth Football Club.

Bell played his junior football for the South Perth Stingrays.  At the Stingrays Bell would win a premiership in 2011.

Bell attended Aquinas College where he would also play football in the Private School’s Association (PSA) competition.

Bell had never played any development football for the Demons but after finishing school at the end of 2013 he decided that he would go down and try his luck at Perth.

“Being 18 I thought I might as well give it a crack while I was young and if it didn’t work out, well then it didn’t work out.”

“I went down to the club with no real expectations and just wanted to have a kick of the footy and see where it took me and it has certainly paid off so far.”

At the completion of the 2014 season Bell was named in the back pocket of the Colts Team of the Year and finished runner up behind Kayle Phillips in the Best and Fairest Award.

The transition from colt’s football to senior football is hard for most players and Bell was no different but his positive attitude and fearless attack on the football soon earned him the respect of his more senior teammates.

“It’s a huge transition but I went in with the mindset of just giving it a red hot crack.”

“I really tried to learn as much as I can off the senior players.  The blokes that train harder than anyone else.  Players like Daniel O’Sullivan who had played roughly 100 games for the club.”

“At the beginning I probably wasn’t quite up to the standard but I pride myself on not getting beaten and playing my role for the team.”

“Being able to earn the respect of these senior players early on, certainly helped make 

the transition from colt’s football to senior football easier.”

After making his league debut in round one against Swan Districts, Bell would go on to 

play 19 games in his first season of senior football.  At the conclusion of that year, Bell would finish third in the Best and Fairest, three votes behind runner-up Liam McKenna and also be receive the Doug Buckingham Memorial Trophy which is awarded to the player that shows the most potential each season.

During the 2015 season Bell appeared to cause some controversy when he ‘declined’ to play for Western Australia in the National Under-18’s Championships.

“The first thing I ever heard about me playing for WA was when that article got written.”

“I was under the impression that because I was 19 I was too old to play State 18’s football but apparently there was a loophole that meant I could have because I had never been through any development squads.”

“It was a bit surprising when this article popped up as I actually never got asked if I wanted to come down and play State 18’s and I certainly don’t think you turn down those sorts of offers.”

At Aquinas Head of Sport and former South Fremantle player David Gault and Dean Nottle played big roles in helping develop Bell to the player that he is today.

“Dean Nottle had a big influence on me from year ten, right through to the first 18’s as did David Gault who oversaw everything.”

Another major influence on Bell’s career has been that of his father David.

David Bell OAM played 186 matches and scored 20 goals in an eleven year international career playing for the Kookaburra’s.  He would play in three Olympic Games, four World Cups and nine Champions Trophy tournaments.  In 1987 he received a Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to Hockey and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2004.

“The old man has had a big influence on my career.  It’s been awesome having someone with his experience in an elite sporting program.”

“I get a lot of pointers from him and he has helped with showing me what it takes to play at a high level.”

With the Demons now having equalled the amount of wins they had last season, Bell is keen to hopefully see a couple of more victories before the season is out.

“For the rest of the year the goal as a team would be to keep developing and hopefully we can get a few more wins on the board as that always helps.”

“Personally I just want to keep trying to play my role in the team and hopefully that can lead towards team success.”

Bell is certainly playing his role this season and has been named in the initial squad for next month’s State Game against Tasmania.

“Obviously it’s good to get a bit of recognition for the hard work you put in but seeing your name alongside some of the WAFL’s top players is pretty amazing.”

Outside of football Bell is almost at the end of his first year of a Commerce Degree at Curtin University and likes to get out on the golf course as much as possible.

“My Mum, Dad and brother all play golf.”

“It’s a good sport to get into and I enjoy playing it.”