By Mark Murray
FORMER Western Jet Bachar Houli made his AFL debut for Essendon on Friday night in the Bombers’ 22-point loss to the Kangaroos at Telstra Dome.
The exciting on-baller, who played all his junior football with the Spotswood Football Club before advancing to the Jets in the TAC Cup, made an impressive debut which would have pleased the Bombers’ faithful.
He kicked a goal, collected 15 possessions and seemed unflustered by the speed of the game.
Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy said Houli, who turned 19 on Saturday, had been selected after a number of stand-out performances with the Bendigo Bombers over the past three weeks, including 32 disposals against Williamstown the previous weekend.
“Friday night is a great opportunity for the young man and we are looking forward to him beginning his AFL career,” Sheedy said before the match.
“He will be a favourite of the crowd because he is a hard-working young player, which is the sort of footballer Essendon supporters love.”
The third-round pick in the 2006 AFL draft (number 42 overall), Houli is known for his aerobic capacity and reads the play extremely well.
The left-footer represented Vic Metro last year, and turned heads at the carnival.
Bendigo Bombers coach Matthew Knights said Houli had the skills and fitness for AFL football.
“He put the ball inside 50m 11 times on the weekend (5 May) for the Bendigo Bombers and played what I would call a complete game,” Knights said.
“His two-way running, pressure and tackling have been a feature of his game over the past three weeks.
“I am confident Bachar will develop into a good AFL player and have a successful career.”
Essendon Football Club chief executive Peter Jackson said that, beyond football, Bachar had played a key role in the club’s work with the multicultural community.
Houli is the first devout Muslim to play AFL football.
“We conduct a multicultural program which aims to get newly arrived refugees and multicultural communities involved in football,” Jackson said.
“The program features an 18-week course in more than 20 schools in the north-west region reaching approximately 2000 students.
“Schools participate in clinics, game visit, multicultural cup, visit to Windy Hill and many other activities.
“Bachar has been heavily involved in all initiatives.”
