Fremantle great Peter Bell makes return to football industry in new role months after Dockers exit

Peter Bell is set to be responsible for fostering some of WA footy’s top young talent, with the Fremantle Dockers great joining the West Australian Football Commission in a newly created executive role. The West Australian can reveal Bell has taken on the new role of executive manager of performance pathways and development at the WAFC, just months after ending his long association with Freo. Bell, 48, departed the Dockers in October after more than five years in off-field roles at the club he previously captained and played 163 games for. He spent four years as the executive general manager of football and most recently as executive general manager of football talent, strategy and special projects. It comes after the WAFC conducted a review into their sport’s talent pathways, which was led by vice-chair Dixie Marshall and included former West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett and new board member Brad Wira. This led to the departure of long-time executive Scott Baker from his role as executive manager of talent and football operations after six years. Bell was a strong contender for the role of head of football role at Collingwood, but was beaten to the job by Charlie Gardiner, who was appointed to the role in December after six years as an administrator at Sydney. Bell will begin at the WAFC next month. “In my time in the AFL one of the areas I fulfilled that I was passionate about was the talent pathways and the talent identification,” Bell told The West Australian. “You get a good look at how all the states operate. Being here in WA, you take a particular interest in the talent pathways... so to be able to hopefully implement the commission’s vision and work with a team to deliver good talent pathway outcomes was something that really interested me.” Bell said he was confident of improving multiple aspects at the WAFC as he scopes his goals for the coming months. “The easy thing to say is that’s more males and females drafted and that’s certainly going to be a part of the role,” he said. “But also just increasing participation numbers, increasing how we develop those young players that are talented. “How we can improve things like access to programs and how we can improve equity, so that where you are growing up in WA you’ve got a good chance of developing your skills in Australian Rules Football? “That really appealed. There some of the things I’d love to be part of a team that is able to achieve but along with that is also making there are opportunities for further coach development, high-performance development, skill acquisition, player development managers and the like. “I think there’s a wonderful opportunity to really help the talent pool that exists within this state to lead to really good outcomes for WA footy.” Meanwhile, The West Australian can also confirm that South Fremantle are also in talks for Bell to return to the club in their football department. Bell played 49 games for the Bulldogs including 14 in their premiership year of 2009 after he retired from the AFL. “We are currently having a conversation with Peter Bell about the prospect of him supporting our football programs in 2025, given his experience and skill-set,” South Fremantle chief executive Cam Britt told The West Australian. “It remains exploratory in nature at present but we hold him in very high regard, both as a person and past player. “As a former WAFL premiership teammate of our new senior coach Craig White, Belly, like us all, is determined to see the club succeed.”