Daniel Wells Biography

Dean Laidley apologises for criticising umpires officiating in the Kangaroos' loss to Hawthorn after claiming that they had made inappropriate comments and gestures to his players and was planning to complain to AFL chief Andrew Demetriou about the matter.

Laidley says that changed his mind about the claim after football manager Donald McDonald reviewed audio of the match with AFL director of umpiring Jeff Gieschen and found nothing to substantiate the allegations.

"I was wrong to make any public statement about the umpiring in the match and accept that any concerns should have been directed to Jeff Gieschen through the normal channels," Laidley said in a statement.

"To Todd Keating, Martin Ellis, and Matthew Head, I unreservedly apologise for any inference caused by my inappropriate statements.

"I will make contact with Jeff Gieschen over the next 24-48 hours so that I arrange to speak directly to the umpires concerned."

DANIEL Wells has promised to repay North Melbourne's long-held faith in him this season by finding the on-field consistency that has eluded him.

North Melbourne midfielder Daniel Wells is conscious of public scrutiny after a below par start to the season.

"It's not good enough," Wells said. "I need to be a lot more consistent. It's been the word of my career so far. It's getting a bit boring."

Enigmatic Kangaroo Daniel Wells admits he has thrown away at least two years at the top as the focus again falls on his form.

North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley has voiced his frustration about two of his under-performing stars: Daniel Wells and Corey Jones.

Kangaroos midfielder Daniel Wells' hip injury ensures he will face an undetermined wait on the sidelines.

Scans reveal Wells has been carrying the injury for several weeks, but coach Dean Laidley was not using that as an excuse for Wells' unsatisfactory form.

"Once you go across the line and you've flagged yourself as being fit there's no excuses," Laidley said.

Kangaroos coach Dean Laidley has asked fans not to expect too much from Daniel Wells in his first week back from injury.

"He's ready to go," Laidley said.

"But we've got to be mindful that he's been out for three weeks. He won't be able to play his full quota of time but we think he'll value-add to our side."

A switch to defence for Daniel Wells paid off in North Melbourne's win over Port Adelaide.

"I'd played there a couple of times before and enjoyed it and it worked out well again," Wells said about North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley's decision to move him into defence.

"He said he was thinking about playing me at half-back and just trying to use my skills and decision-making to give our forwards or midfielders some good chances."

North Melbourne speedster Daniel Wells is looking forward to playing his part in the AFL's Indigenous Round.

"I suppose we're always encouraging each other to just keep doing well," Wells said.

"There's not many of us in the competition.

"Looking at the numbers today I guess there are a lot of us, but it's just a bond we have and it's something we share together."

Daniel Wells says more players are making their debut with North now it is staying in Melbourne.

"We've always drafted ready-made players and have never really been in this position," Wells said.

"'Bottomed out' isn't the right term but we have started getting the young kids in and blooding them so we can plan for the future.

"We've always lived on the edge as a club, financially and footy-wise to some extent. Because we know we're going to be in Melbourne for good now - with the new facility coming up - I think it gives the club a bit more confidence to start playing these kids."

North Melbourne dynamo Daniel Wells faces more time on the sidelines with a groin injury, according to coach Darren Crocker.

"We just want to make sure that when we bring Daniel back, he is 100 per cent ready to go," Crocker said.

"I had a good chat to him and said: 'mate, I really want you to be 100 per cent when you come back. I don't want to rush it and have you play two or three games and then we are in the same situation'."

Daniel Wells has had stitches in his leg after an accident at the club on Monday, adding to the frustration of his groin injury.

Wells cut himself on a piece of gym equipment and has been advised by North's medical staff to keep the leg iced and elevated for two days to help the five-centimetre wound heal and will not be able to run for a fortnight.

"I wasn't too far away from actually coming back. "Now it puts me back a couple of extra weeks, which is unfortunate," Wells said.

"It's going to take a little while so I've got to make sure I don't keep re-splitting it, which is a possibility because the skin's so thin."

North Melbourne caretaker coach Darren Crocker says Daniel Wells will make his return from injury playing for North Ballarat this weekend.

"He'll play in the VFL and that is a really positive sign. His last two weeks of training have been very good. We know that he's starting to get back to where [he] wants to get back to," Crocker said.

"He'll play around 70 per cent [of game time] in the VFL and hopefully really start to push for senior selection in the next couple of weeks."

North Melbourne's Daniel Wells will not play again this year after succumbing to osteitis pubis.

"There are only two games to go but thinking about it, I tried really hard to get back and play but it wasn't to be," Wells said.

"It's very frustrating to do all the work and not get rewarded for it but I left no stone unturned. That way, I've got less pressure on myself. I know I've tried everything I could and didn't come up trumps."

North Melbourne midfielder Daniel Wells has started running again after undergoing groin surgery at season's end.

Wells will enter 2010 on a strictly modified program and sit out the NAB Cup.

"It's a good step, a positive step," he said.

"It's been frustrating but with the injury I had last year and the season I had, I'm pretty keen to get it right.

"I'm not rushing it too much. The boys are training super hard so I know I've got a lot of work to do."

North Melbourne has praised the steady progress of Daniel Wells, but will be cautious in his rehabilitation after groin surgery.

"It was always going to be a fairly lengthy recovery period because of the surgery, but to his credit he has come through really well. He is building up his running now, which is really positive," North Melbourne football operations manager Donald McDonald said.

"We don't want to put a date on when we think he will play. (But) he will be right by the start of the season."

Daniel Wells is recovering well from osteitis pubis according to club doctor Con Mitropoulos.

"[He's] doing extremely well with his groins and is on schedule for a game or two before round one," Mitropoulos said.