If ever you needed a cool head in a crisis Sean Wellman is the man. His experience will be invaluable this season, particularly with some new names likely to be around him in defence. He is no longer part of the official leadership group but still a very important part of the team on and off the field. A foot injury put him out of action for Round 1, but Wellman is a chance to return against St.Kilda.

2003
A major highlight of Wellman's game is his consistency and this is something that stood out again in 2003. He was a key member of Essendon's backline and again used his running ability to move the ball out of the Bombers' backline. After a few quiet performances mid-way through the season, Wellman hit back hard and finished the season in good form. Wellman celebrated his 150 game milestone in Round 6 against Fremantle.

STRENGTHS
Wellman does a lot of work that goes unnoticed and isn’t necessarily recorded on the stats sheet. He is one of the team’s most courageous players and won’t hesitate to back into a pack to help his teammate cut off an opposition forward’s lead. One of Wellman’s biggest assets is his speed and ability to carry the ball out of the backline.

POSITION
As a running halfback Wellman has the speed to drive the ball from defence forward for the Bombers. He is very important to the team in a number of ways and is a key member of the club’s leadership group. At 193cm in stature he can take a tall opposition forward, but also has the athleticism to match it with a smaller forward.

2004
Wellman is renowned for his reliability and consistency and that is exactly what the coaching panel will want to see from him in 2004. At 29-years-old he is one of the team’s most experienced players and is integral to the success of the backline. Expect a big season from Wellman.

WHAT SHEEDY SAYS
Sean Wellman was in good form in the pre-season before injuring his foot against St.Kilda in the Wizard Cup semi final. Sean now has to make sure that he finishes the next few years off well for a full career. I would like to see him play up the ground a little bit as ruck rover and play around the wing and half-back.

We need to ensure he keeps really enjoying his footy. That seems to me one of the important parts of keeping players playing footy up until they are 28, 29 years of age. Just give them a new challenge and a new interest. Mark Mercuri has done that this season in the backline. We have to put that challenge to them and then they are not getting bored playing in the same position for all of their lives and just being a one-position player.