Caleb Daniel (born 7 July 1996) is a 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who plays for the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos or colloquially the Roos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AF ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). Known for his precise short kicking from half back, Daniel has been recognised statistically as one of the most effective short kicks in the game. When he was recruited in 2014 he was listed as the shortest player at 167cm (standing now at 171 cm) in the AFL, and is one of the few players who regularly wears a protective helmet, having done so since his playing days at junior level. He previously played for the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

from 2015 to 2024 and was in the 2016 premiership team.

Early days and career

Daniel was born in

Beaudesert, Queensland Beaudesert ( Yugambeh: ''Yilbagan'') is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region of Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Beaudesert had a population of 6,752 people. Beaudesert is the administrative centre for the Scenic R ...

where he lived until the age of six before moving to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. He studied at

Aberfoyle Park High School Aberfoyle Park High School is a large public secondary schools in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Its facilities include the community library, performing arts centre, gymnasium, and information and communicat ...

and played eleven senior games for South Adelaide in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

. He credits his coach at South Adelaide, former Fitzroy and St Kilda rover

Brad Gotch Bradley Gotch (born 23 June 1962) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy and St Kilda in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL). He was most recently the head coach of West Adelaide Football Club in the SA ...

, for instilling confidence in him at the start of his senior career.

AFL career

Selection and debut

Daniel was selected by the Bulldogs with pick 46 of the 2014 National Draft. While he was overlooked by other clubs due to his short stature, Simon Dalrymple, the Bulldogs' chief recruiter at the time, had been impressed by Daniel, commenting: "His decision-making stood out, his ball-handling... He can keep on running. And he's got fantastic agility, and when you've got that lateral movement it buys you a bit more time." He made his debut in an 11-point win against as the starting substitute in round 14 of the 2015 season.

Early AFL career

After the promise shown in his debut season, Daniel took his game to the next level the following season, playing all but two games due to calf injury and playing a key role in the Bulldogs' drought-breaking premiership. In Round 4 2016, he was the round nominee for the

2016 AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. An AFL Rising Star#Eligibility and nominations, eligible player is no ...

after collecting 25 disposals in a 36-point win against . He would finish runner-up to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Callum Mills Callum Mills (born 2 April 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer and current captain of the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has been a co-captain of the club since 2022 and the sole captain since 2024. Mil ...

. Daniel was among the Bulldogs' best players in the Elimination Final win over at

Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco, Western Australia, Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood, ...

, amassing a then career-high 33 disposals and kicking a goal. In February 2017, Daniel signed a two-year contract extension with the

, keeping him at the club until 2019. Daniel had required a shoulder reconstruction after the Western Bulldogs 2016 Premiership, meaning he trained without contact for some time. Daniel played 20 games in the

2017 AFL season The 2017 AFL season was the 121st season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...

, only missing out on rounds 4 and 5, which he spent in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL). In the 2017 season, Daniel had 12 games where he picked up 20 or more disposals. After being recognised for having a strong season, Daniel came fifth in the

Charles Sutton Medal The Charles Sutton Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged best and fairest for the Western Bulldogs throughout the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League season. The medal is named a ...

voting for 2017.

2020 season: Best and fairest success

Daniel played every game in the home and away season, having a career best season and being recognised around the league for his impressive performance. Daniel was ranked as the games best ranked general defender according to AFL Player ratings. He was nominated by the Western Bulldogs for the

Leigh Matthews Trophy The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was s ...

, alongside teammates

Marcus Bontempelli Marcus Bontempelli (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as Western Bulldogs captain since the 2020 season, and was previo ...

and Jack Macrae. He was named in the initial 40-man squad of the

2020 All-Australian team The 2020 All-Australian team represents the best performed Australian Football League (AFL) players during the 2020 season. It was announced on 24 September as a complete Australian rules football team of 22 players. The team is honorary and do ...

. Daniel made the 22 man final squad, named on the interchange bench. Daniel won the

best and fairest award, the

, with a total of 205 votes over the course of the 18 games he played, beating Western Bulldogs captain

by a mere 10 votes.

Later AFL career

Daniel signed a four-year contract extension with the Bulldogs in 2022. In the same year, Daniel came sixth in the club’s Best and Fairest count despite missing a month of the season due to knee surgery. Following the

2024 AFL season The 2024 AFL season was the 128th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 18 clubs and ran from 7 March to 28 September, comprising ...

, Daniel was traded to .

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of 2023.'' , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, , 35 , , 10 , , 6 , , 2 , , 55 , , 76 , , 131 , , 23 , , 22 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 5.5 , , 7.6 , , 13.1 , , 2.3 , , 2.2 , - , scope=row bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

^# , , 35 , , 24 , , 11 , , 9 , , 279 , , 239 , , 518 , , 89 , , 79 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 11.6 , , 11.0 , , 21.6 , , 3.7 , , 3.3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, , 35 , , 20 , , 5 , , 5 , , 210 , , 224 , , 434 , , 59 , , 57 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 10.5 , , 11.2 , , 21.7 , , 3.0 , , 2.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, , 35 , , 20 , , 4 , , 7 , , 214 , , 206 , , 420 , , 84 , , 63 , , 0.2 , , 0.35 , , 10.7 , , 10.3 , , 21.0 , , 4.2 , , 3.15 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, , 35 , , 17 , , 1 , , 0 , , 294 , , 157 , , 451 , , 67 , , 56 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 17.3 , , 9.2 , , 26.5 , , 3.9 , , 3.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, , 35 , , 18 , , 3 , , 2 , , 225 , , 138 , , 363 , , 59 , , 42 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 12.5 , , 7.7 , , 20.2 , , 3.3 , , 2.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, , 35 , , 25 , , 7 , , 1 , , 364 , , 267 , , 631 , , 100 , , 58 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 14.6 , , 10.7 , , 25.3 , , 4.0 , , 2.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, , 35 , , 19 , , 0 , , 0 , , 297 , , 172 , , 469 , , 97 , , 36 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 15.6 , , 9.1 , , 24.7 , , 5.1 , , 1.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, , 35 , , 23 , , 10 , , 6 , , 295 , , 242 , , 537 , , 100 , , 88 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 12.8 , , 10.5 , , 23.3 , , 4.3 , , 3.8 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 175 ! 47 ! 32 ! 2233 ! 1721 ! 3954 ! 678 ! 498 ! 0.3 ! 0.2 ! 12.8 ! 9.8 ! 22.6 ! 3.9 ! 2.8 Notes

Honours and achievements

*Team **

AFL premiership This page is a complete chronological listing of VFL/AFL premiers. The Australian Football League (AFL), known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) until 1989, is the elite national competition in men's Australian rules football. The inaugur ...

*Individual **

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Bu ...

nominee:

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, 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-perfo ...

: 2020

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Caleb 1996 births Living people Western Bulldogs players North Melbourne Football Club players Western Bulldogs premiership players Australian rules footballers from South Australia South Adelaide Football Club players All-Australians (AFL) Charles Sutton Medal winners VFL/AFL premiership players Sportspeople from Beaudesert, Queensland 21st-century Australian sportsmen