Thomas Bell (born 13 June 1991) is a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

and

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL).

Early life

Born and raised in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Bell played soccer as a youth before being introduced to Australian rules football at age 12. He attended

Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...

in Brisbane throughout his schooling and graduated with future AFL players Tom Hickey and Josh Thomas in 2008. He joined the NEAFL's

Morningside Australian Football Club The Morningside Australian Football Club, also known as the Morningside Panthers, is an Australian rules football club based at Jack Esplen Oval in the suburb of Hawthorne in Brisbane. The club consists of Masters, Amateurs, Women's, Junior and ...

in 2010, and was a regular senior player by 2011; in that season, he played twenty games for the club, and made his name as a wing/halfback player. While playing in the NEAFL, Bell was selected in the Queensland Under-21 team, and also played a handful of games for the

reserves. Outside of football, he undertook an apprenticeship as a

refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

mechanic.

AFL career

Following the 2011 season, and at the age of 20, Bell was recruited to the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

by the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

with its first round selection in the 2012 Rookie Draft (pick No. 14 overall). He played most of his first season for Carlton's , the

Northern Blues The Preston Football Club, which trades and plays as the Northern Bullants, is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It plays its home games at the Preston City O ...

, and he made his senior debut for Carlton in Round 17. Bell played the last seven AFL matches of the season, and won Carlton's Best First-Year Player award for 2012. In October 2015, Bell was traded to the

. He was delisted by the Lions at the end of the 2018 season.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Tom Australian rules footballers from Queensland 1991 births Living people Morningside Australian Football Club players Preston Football Club (VFA) players Carlton Football Club players Brisbane Lions players Australian rules footballers from Brisbane