Peter Bell has a charming history of prevailing against all odds.
As a child he was adopted by an Australian couple in his native South Korea in 1979, spending his formative years in regional Kojonup before eventually earning a law degree.
Peter Bell started and finished his career with Fremantle and is now primed to be the club’s footy boss.
As a footballer he was deemed slow by inaugural Dockers coach Gerard Neesham and delisted after one year before becoming a dual premiership player with North Melbourne and eventually returning to Fremantle in 2001 for eight years, five as captain.
As a broadcaster and football media analyst Bell has an endearing blend of knowledge, wit and humility all too rare in the professions.
And those sceptical of him becoming Fremantle's football operations manager because of his lack of football administration experience should remember the bloke he's replacing, Chris Bond. Most other administrators at AFL clubs came from nowhere too.
The 42-year-old has a knack for proving people wrong and his impressive track record above combined with his obvious intelligence, compassion, personality and football and life experiences should be enough for Freo fans to endorse his likely appointment.
But two other reasons make Bell the right ring-in right now for Freo.
One, he is a Dockers legend, a familiar face who will give the port club stability at a time of mass exodus and unprecedented upheaval.
And two, he will be his own man, one not afraid of coach Ross Lyon's roar, nor that of any other senior club official, including chief executive Steve Rosich and chairman Dale Alcock.
Bell in action for Freo in 2008, the year he retired from AFL.
At a time when the club is struggling to communicate the nature and progress of its rebuild to its sponsors and supporters, and the coach is making news headlines for sometimes the wrong reasons, having the familiar face of Bell around the place could prove comforting for Fremantle fans becoming more disinterested by the day with Lyon.
Bell also wants the job, which says a lot about the strength of his character … and he's prepared to pay for it too, by relinquishing his well-paid football media jobs with Channel 7 and the ABC, corporate speaking engagements and his day job hosting ABC Radio's breakfast program in Perth.
Fremantle has made it evident they have a plan to return to the top through a strategy heavily reliant on key personnel at the club, two of whom – Bond and list manager Simon Lloyd – have recently walked out the door while Lyon has been somewhat lucky not to have been shown it.
On the field the club has banked on captain and Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe's leadership and aura to retain key players, like gun rookie Adam Cerra, who many predicted was on his way out before citing Fyfe when re-signing on Thursday.
But Fyfe's deputy Lachie Neale has already flown out the door, landing in Brisbane this week in a move club heavies certainly didn't bank on.
The presence of Bell at the head of Fremantle's football department may quell the exits and quickly improve the fortunes and culture of a club desperate for leadership and success.
Source: Read Full Article