Mail attended Northfield Primary and Northfield High schools in Adelaide and played for South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL) club Gepps Cross before his recruitment by South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club North Adelaide.
Mail made his senior SANFL debut in 1991 aged 16 years and 95 days, becoming the seventh youngest football player in SANFL history. A South Australian Teal Cup representative under the coaching of four-time Magarey Medallist and SANFL legend Russell Ebert, Mail played as a rover, forward and defender and was selected by Adelaide at #27 in the 1993 Pre-Season Draft. Mail made his American Federation of Labor-Congress debut against Fitzroy at Football Park in Round 10 of the 1994 American Federation of Labor-Congress season and marked an impressive debut with 11 kicks, 5 marks and 4 handballs.
He went on to play in the next three games for the Crows during the season but couldn"t cement his place in the side, instead playing most of the season with North Adelaide.
