'Hey, look, we're fine' -- No spat between us, says WellsNORTH Melbourne's Daniel Wells has quashed rumours of a perceived spat between he and coach Dean Laidley.
Wells, the No.2 selection in the 2002 draft, has felt the pressure from an increasingly restless supporter group after, by his standards at least, below-par performances in the opening rounds of the season, but which now have been revealed is the result of a nagging hip injury.
Yet that restlessness spilled out recently when Laidley publicly questioned Wells's commitment to the Roo cause.
"Once you go across the line and you've flagged yourself as being fit there's no excuses," Laidley said after North's loss to Hawthorn in Round 3. "Everyone is entitled to a bad game, but you need to make sure that you're up and about in your body language and you do all the team stuff, like chase and tackle and all that sort of stuff."
It made for intriguing reading but this week Wells, in his fortnightly column for the club, Wellsy's Word, went some way to clear the air over what's going down between player and coach.
"Dean and I had a chat last week but we catch up once a week anyway," Wells writes. "A lot of the time it is not even about footy, which makes a nice change, but this time we needed to clear the air. We had to talk and it was good that we were both man enough to understand that.
"We didn't beat around the bush and both had our say but, truth is, we squashed it on the head in five minutes. We shook hands afterwards.
"He's my coach and I'm his player -- it's as simple as that. There's no rift or anything and I want to play for him this year and beyond."
The murmur from Kangaroos fans has increased in recent years with their expectations of Wells matching that of his high draft selection. While the 24-year-old has shown glimpses of his brilliant best, these performances have been few and far between for Roos supporters.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Friday, May 1, 2009
Last Modified on 02/05/2009 11:38