Alex Neal-Bullen

Alex Neal-Bullen

Neal-Bullen at training in November 2015
Personal information
Full name Alex Neal-Bullen
Date of birth (1996-01-09) 9 January 1996
Original team(s) Glenelg (SANFL)
Draft #40, 2014 national draft
Debut Round 11, 2015, Melbourne
v. St Kilda, at Etihad Stadium
Height/Weight 182 cm / 76 kg
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Melbourne
Number 30
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2015– Melbourne 11 (6)
1 Playing statistics correct to end of 2015 season.

Alex Neal-Bullen (born 9 January 1996) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life

Neal-Bullen was born into a sporting family, where his grandma, Cheryl Neal, became the first female jockey in history to win a race in Melbourne against men, achieved in 1979.[1] Her career ended prematurely after a fall which left her in a coma for eight months and paraplegic from the waist down; his grandmother's disability was one of the reasons behind Neal-Bullen deciding to study education and disability at Flinders University during 2014.[2]

Neal-Bullen played his junior career with the Glenelg Football Club and played nine senior games with the SANFL league team in 2014.[3] He achieved state selection for South Australia in the 2014 AFL Under 18 Championships and played in the winning Grand Final against Vic Metro, whilst also being named in the best players for the match.[4] His performances in the championships, where he was the leading clearance winner, and his performances in the SANFL led to him being regarded as an in-and-under player who made an impact on games.[5] In addition, his athletic background placed him in the elite bracket of endurance runners[6] and raised his prospects to being drafted inside the top-25.[7]

AFL career

Neal-Bullen was recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with their third selection and the 40th overall in the 2014 national draft.[8] After a delayed start to the 2015 season through knee injuries,[9][10] he made his debut in round 11 against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.[11] He kicked his first goal the following week in the 24-point victory against Geelong at Simonds Stadium and finished the match with three goals.[12] After his debut, he missed only one match for the remainder of the season and managed eleven games overall with a total of six goals, in addition, Melbourne football operations manager, Josh Mahoney, noted Neal-Bullen had "adapted really quickly to the demands of being an AFL player."[13]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2015 season[14]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
2015 Melbourne 30 11 6 4 60 44 104 20 26 0.5 0.4 5.5 4.0 9.5 1.8 2.4
Career 11 6 4 60 44 104 20 26 0.5 0.4 5.5 4.0 9.5 1.8 2.4

References

  1. ↑ Lynch, Michael (4 November 2007). "Ready for the final act". The Age (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Twomey, Callum (13 November 2014). "Educating Alex: one draft prospect's year of learning". AFL.com.au (Bigpond). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Turner, Matt (30 November 2014). "Alex Neal-Bullen lands dream AFL Draft result by joining Melbourne and great mate Billy Stretch". Herald Sun (News Corp Australia). Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  4. ↑ Di Giorgio, Giulio (3 July 2014). "South Australia wins back-to-back U18 championships". AFL.com.au (Bigpond). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Capel, Andrew (11 November 2014). "Tenacious Tiger Alex Neal-Bullen is made of the right stuff as he prepares for the AFL Draft". The Advertiser (News Corp Australia). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Twomey, Callum (11 November 2014). "16 days to the draft: Meet Alex Neal-Bullen". AFL.com.au (Bigpond). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Twomey, Callum. "Late draft mail: Marchbank a top 10 bolter". AFL.com.au (Bigpond). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Burgan, Matt (3 December 2014). "Stretch, ANB rapt to remain teammates". AFL.com.au (Bigpond). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Guthrie, Ben (19 December 2014). "Demon draftee escapes serious injury after training mishap". AFL.com.au (Bigpond). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Guthrie, Ben (27 January 2015). "Young Demon down again with knee injury". AFL.com.au (Bigpond). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Harrington, Anna (12 June 2015). "Neal-Bullen to debut against Saints". MelbourneFC.com.au (BigPond). Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  12. ↑ Hanlon, Peter (21 June 2015). "Demons gatecrash Corey Enright's party with four-goal win". The Age (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Guthrie, Ben (25 September 2015). "Demons lock in four youngsters to new deals". AFL.com.au (Bigpond). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Alex Neal-Bullen". AFL Tables. Retrieved 14 June 2015.

External links

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