Daniel Wells (born 3 February 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...

and Collingwood in the Australian Football League (AFL).

AFL career

Wells was selected by with the number two overall pick in the 2002 AFL draft and made his debut in 2003 playing 18 games and averaging 12 disposals per game. He rose to prominence in 2004 when, against Fremantle, he kicked the AFL Goal of the Year, jumping and taking the ball from ruck contest in the goal square and kicking the goal before he landed. Wells was selected in the Australian team for the 2005 International Rules Series but was unable to play due to injury. He enjoyed a fairly good year in 2006 in which he averaged 18 disposals and finished 2nd in the Syd Barker Medal. In 2008, Wells enjoyed a good season averaging 21 disposals and having a big impact in matches in the second half of the season during North Melbourne's winning period. He was rewarded with selection in the Australian side that lost to Ireland in that year's International Rules Series. 2009 was a disappointing year for Wells when injuries restricted him to just 7 games. In 2011 Wells produced a brilliant and consistent season when he won his first Syd Barker Medal which he shared with Andrew Swallow. He would also be named in the 40 man

All Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led by ...

squad but would miss out on being part of the final 22. Following the 2013 season, the two-time best and fairest was chosen to represent Australia in the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (se ...

as captain of the exclusively

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

team, a rare and memorable honour. At the conclusion of the 2016 season, Wells announced his intentions to leave North Melbourne as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

and he signed with Collingwood as an unrestricted free agent in October. On 24 May 2017, it was announced that he would wear number 67 on his guernsey, rather than his usual 3, for the round 10 Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round game against . This was to commemorate the 1967 referendum (which allowed Indigenous Australians to be counted with the general population in the census). Wells retired in September 2019.

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2019 season'' , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2003 , style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 18 , , 10 , , 7 , , 149 , , 67 , , 216 , , 64 , , 39 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 8.3 , , 3.7 , , 12.0 , , 3.6 , , 2.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2004 , style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 22 , , 13 , , 8 , , 239 , , 114 , , 353 , , 89 , , 49 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 10.9 , , 5.2 , , 16.0 , , 4.0 , , 2.2 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2005 , style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 22 , , 12 , , 10 , , 246 , , 148 , , 394 , , 86 , , 43 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 11.2 , , 6.7 , , 17.9 , , 3.9 , , 2.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2006 , style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 22 , , 11 , , 7 , , 227 , , 180 , , 407 , , 81 , , 53 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 10.3 , , 8.2 , , 18.5 , , 3.7 , , 2.4 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2007 , style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 18 , , 14 , , 18 , , 193 , , 139 , , 332 , , 70 , , 44 , , 0.8 , , 1.0 , , 10.7 , , 7.7 , , 18.4 , , 3.9 , , 2.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 21 , , 6 , , 11 , , 271 , , 173 , , 444 , , 92 , , 59 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 12.9 , , 8.2 , , 21.1 , , 4.4 , , 2.8 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2009 , style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 7 , , 4 , , 1 , , 94 , , 41 , , 135 , , 30 , , 13 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 13.4 , , 5.9 , , 19.3 , , 4.3 , , 1.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2010 , style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 19 , , 15 , , 11 , , 246 , , 150 , , 396 , , 90 , , 43 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 12.9 , , 7.9 , , 20.8 , , 4.7 , , 2.3 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2011 , style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 21 , , 17 , , 15 , , 312 , , 180 , , 492 , , 80 , , 80 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 14.9 , , 8.6 , , 23.4 , , 3.8 , , 3.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 20 , , 14 , , 16 , , 290 , , 149 , , 439 , , 72 , , 59 , , 0.7 , , 0.8 , , 14.5 , , 7.5 , , 22.0 , , 3.6 , , 3.0 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 22 , , 25 , , 10 , , 291 , , 177 , , 468 , , 80 , , 52 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 13.2 , , 8.0 , , 21.3 , , 3.6 , , 2.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 10 , , 4 , , 4 , , 100 , , 87 , , 187 , , 39 , , 25 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 10.0 , , 8.7 , , 18.7 , , 3.9 , , 2.5 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2015 , style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 2 , , 0 , , 0 , , 6 , , 16 , , 22 , , 1 , , 6 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , , 8.0 , , 11.0 , , 0.5 , , 3.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 8 , , 19 , , 5 , , 5 , , 224 , , 215 , , 439 , , 67 , , 82 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 11.8 , , 11.3 , , 23.1 , , 3.5 , , 4.3 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3/67 , , 10 , , 11 , , 5 , , 101 , , 84 , , 185 , , 47 , , 22 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 10.1 , , 8.4 , , 18.5 , , 4.7 , , 2.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 4 , , 2 , , 4 , , 32 , , 18 , , 50 , , 14 , , 10 , , 0.5 , , 1.0 , , 8.0 , , 4.5 , , 12.5 , , 3.5 , , 2.5 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 1 , , 3 , , 0 , , 6 , , 5 , , 11 , , 4 , , 2 , , 3.0 , , 0.0 , , 6.0 , , 5.0 , , 11.0 , , 4.0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 258 ! 166 ! 132 ! 3027 ! 1943 ! 4970 ! 1006 ! 681 ! 0.6 ! 0.5 ! 11.7 ! 7.5 ! 19.3 ! 3.9 ! 2.6

Health scare

At the end of the 2011 season Wells had shoulder surgery during which it was discovered that he had a large blood clot on his lungs. The clot was successfully removed and Wells returned to full health and resumed playing.

Media profile and personal life

In 2007, Wells appeared in a television advertisement for AFL on the Gold Coast and in 2009 and he featured in the official advertisement for the AFL, playing Australian Rules on an

Association Football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

ground. He is a devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

. On 14 October 2006 Wells married school teacher Mariangela Laudato. They have a daughter, Laudate Angelus.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Daniel 1985 births Living people Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football North Melbourne Football Club players Peel Thunder Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Australian Roman Catholics People from Mandurah Syd Barker Medal winners North Ballarat Football Club players Collingwood Football Club players Australia international rules football team players