Year One: Daniel Nielson Profile

Decisions don’t come too difficult at ten years old. Perhaps, what a little girl might wear to a birthday party, or what a little by might like on his sandwich. But at that young Daniel Nielson was already a talented singer, keen swimmer, soccer player, footballer and basket baller, and had to decide on his future. Discussing options with his father, his ambitions and goals couldn’t have been clearer.

“I want to be a footballer when I’m older,” the ten year old declared, and from that moment, he never lost sight of his goals. Throughout high school, Nielson prepared for a future in football. Junior Football, Under 16s and the Eastern Football League, the up-and-comer eventually scored a spot at the Eastern Rangers, who he played for in the TAC Cup. All of his hard work and determination led him to the 2014 National AFL Draft.

“Tell me about draft day”

 “Draft day was a bit weird…” he paused, as he reflected upon his life changing moment. “Exciting though”

Aunts, uncles, cousins, brother, nephews and parents joined Nielson in his family home for the AFL National Draft. A mixture of tension, excitement and hope filled the lounge room, awaiting their beloved Daniel’s name to be announced.

“We didn’t actually hear my name being called out, it just came across the screen at the bottom. One of my cousins saw my name fly passed,” Nielson recalled. At pick 25, the eighteen year old had become the newest recruit for the North Melbourne Football Club.  The family erupted in roars of laughter and cheering for their star, whose dreams had suddenly evolved into an actuality. Nielson sat in shock.  Following an emotional embrace with his dad, Daniel retreated to his bedroom, to process the news alone.

“I had to go into my room and cry my eyes out for a while it was just that good.”

“It was one of the happiest moments I’ve had in my life so far,” he finally said, breaking the silence. “All the effort that you put in and all the time that you spend and all the sacrifices you make that lead up to that point and it finally paid off.”

It wasn’t long until Nielson set foot in his new workplace. His childhood dream of becoming an AFL player was before him at Arden Street, the home of North Melbourne. It seemed that all his hard work and persistence had finally paid off, although Nielson was soon to discover it was only just beginning. 

“The work load increases 10 times the amount you do at TAC cup level… I [was] really feeling it just from being there for a quarter of the whole session.”

The thought of having to undertake four quarters of intensive training, day in and day out suddenly dawned upon him as a challenging task. However, rather than allowing training to defeat him, Neilson rose to his new task and welcomed the new challenge.

“Right now, my body is starting to adapt… it gradually gets easier.”

While he was learning to adapt to his new workload, Nielson had no problems fitting in with his new teammates, something that hadn’t always been easy for him in the past.

“It takes me a while to get used to everyone, or get used to new people, meeting new people and settling in. It’s a bit of a progression for me to be able to do that, to put myself out there a bit more,” Nielson said.

“But straight away [the players] were so welcoming.  A lot of the boys latch onto you… it’s really nice to have that many boys come up to you straight away and introduced themselves and want to get to know you. It was really nice… they’re just a really nice club.”

A shy smile grew on his face as he recalled these first moments with his teammates. It hadn’t taken a sensational spoil, a handful of solid kicks or textbook plays to grab any attention or solidify his belonging amongst the group. For once, his presence was simply enough.

It was an eventful few months for the young defender, who was working hard during his first pre season at AFL level. He was rewarded with a spot in the senior side that took on Adelaide in round one of the pre-season cup. Nielson was showing a lot of positive signs and looking on track to have a huge impact in his first season, until a team tackling drill on March 19.

“It was pretty devastating that day… I tried to hold in the tears as much as possible.” Nineteen-year-old Daniel Nielson reflected upon the news his first season of AFL was over.  Rupturing his ACL that morning, he was forced to the sidelines for twelve months.

He paused surveying his surroundings as if he were still trying to accept the news. 

“There were a lot of ‘what ifs’, like what if I didn’t go in this part of the line, or what if I completely skipped that drill, maybe said I was a bit sore or I just did this, or that…”

For Nielson, the end of his first AFL season was over before it had a chance to truly begin.

Now, at the halfway point, rehab and recovering is going to plan.

“I’m happy with how it’s going… It’s progressing really well,” he said. North Melbourne, too, are impressed with the first years progression, offering him a one year extension on his contract, bounding him to the club for the next two seasons. 

As his first season of AFL is drawing to a close, Daniel has maintained a positive attitude towards his injury.

“I think this comes as a blessing in disguise. I’ve been able to work on my skills… I’ve had this whole year to work out the game plan and go out next year and implement it really well.” 

As for season 2016 and what it holds? Nielson is adamant he will live up to his childhood dream. “I’m confident and I do what I know I can do… I believe that I can make it”.