Warren Campbell facts for kids

Warren Campbell was born on October 19, 1974. He is a former Australian rules footballer who played for several teams. He played for the North Melbourne Kangaroos in the top-level Australian Football League (AFL). He also played for the South Fremantle Bulldogs in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and the St Mary's Saints in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL).

Warren Campbell's Football Journey

Starting in Darwin and Moving to Perth

Warren Campbell grew up in Darwin, Northern Territory. He started his football journey playing for the St Mary's Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL). This league is very popular in the Northern Territory.

Later, in 1992, Warren moved to Perth. There, he joined the South Fremantle Football Club to play in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). The WAFL is a major football league in Western Australia. He played for South Fremantle in both 1992 and 1993.

Joining the AFL: North Melbourne Kangaroos

In 1992, Warren Campbell was chosen by the North Melbourne Kangaroos in the 1992 AFL Draft. The AFL Draft is where professional teams pick young players to join their clubs. Warren was the 23rd player picked that year.

Even though he was drafted in 1992, Warren stayed in Western Australia for the 1993 season. He made his first appearance, called a "debut," for North Melbourne in 1994. This was in Round 7 of the 1994 AFL season, when North Melbourne played against the Melbourne Demons.

Playing for North Melbourne

Warren started his AFL career strongly. He kicked 13 goals in his first 7 games for North Melbourne. Kicking a goal is how players score points in Australian rules football. However, he didn't kick any more goals in the last 4 games he played that year.

In 1995, Warren played 8 games and kicked 4 goals. After the 1996 season, he left the North Melbourne team. He didn't play in the 1996 season when North Melbourne won the championship, known as a "premiership."

Returning to South Fremantle and Coaching

After his time in the AFL, Warren Campbell went back to play for South Fremantle Football Club in 1997. This was a great year for him! He was part of the South Fremantle team that won the WAFL premiership.

In the final minutes of that championship game, Warren kicked a very important goal. This goal gave South Fremantle the lead, and they held onto it to win the match.

After his playing career, Warren also became a coach. In 2005, he coached the West Alice Springs football club to win their own premiership. Then, in the 2006/2007 season, he returned to Darwin to coach his old team, St Mary's, in the NTFL.

Warren's Family Connection to Football

Warren Campbell comes from a family of footballers. His father, Basil Campbell, also played for St Mary's and South Fremantle in the 1970s and 1980s.

Interestingly, three players from South Fremantle's 1997 premiership team had family connections to players from South Fremantle's earlier 1980 premiership team. For example, Clem Michael is the son of Stephen Michael, and Dean Rioli is the nephew of Maurice Rioli. This shows how football can be a family tradition!