Alex Neal-Bullen

Background

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.

Career

Neal-Bullen played his junior career with the Glenelg Football Club and played nine senior games with the SANFL league team in 2014. In addition, his athletic background placed him in the elite bracket of endurance runners and raised his prospects to being drafted inside the top-25. Neal-Bullen was recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with their third selection and the 40th overall in the 2014 national draft.

After a delayed start to the 2015 season through knee injuries, he made his debut in round 11 against Street Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

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. 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 American Federation of Labor-Congress player.".

Achievements

• He achieved state selection for South Australia in the 2014 American Federation of Labor-Congress Under 18 Championships and played in the winning Grand Final against Vic Metro, whilst also being named in the best players for the match. 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.