A MONTH ago, as North trained hard on the Friday before its bye weekend, one player, Daniel Wells, stood out. During a drill where the ball was kicked to two marking talls and four North Melbourne players crumbed what spilled Wells won the ball 13 of the 15 times. It was a strong reminder of his quality, the brilliance often forgotten by those with unrealistic expectations on the game's most talented players.
 
This week, playing against the game's best-performed midfield for the past five seasons, Wells stood out again. He had eight clearances, double that of anyone else on the ground. He had 28 disposals and 11 contested possessions and kicked one goal.  
 
However there were no smiles from the North Melbourne midfielder as he emerged from a meeting after enduring the 11-goal loss to Geelong. What the rooms reflected more was the truth of a Salman Rushdie sentence from his novel Shame: "Silence, the ancient language of defeat."
 
In that environment Wells spoke quietly, with thought, as he reflected on a defeat that many, except those primed for battle, saw coming.
 
"(It's) pretty disappointing, shattering. They're pretty hard to beat down here as you know. Last year and this year our main focus has been to play well against the top four teams, and we crumbled again. The players have taken it in a bad way as they should and there is not much more you can say," said Wells.
 
There may not have been much more Wells felt like saying. In a team game, playing well in a losing team is some consolation but it never comes close to the feeling that comes with winning. Winning is an emotion Wells has experienced 77 times in his 155 game career. He has only felt it twice in his eight trips to Skilled Stadium.
 
But Wells' performance, which earned high praise from his coach Brad Scott, is worth reflecting on, particularly when one considers the criticism that has often been directed at the No.2 draft pick from the 2002 AFL National Draft.
 
Scott's summation left no one in any doubt what the club thought of Wells' efforts. "He was outstanding under fire and played a bit of a lone hand in our midfield. (It's) great we can rely on Daniel Wells. When we are in trouble and we need him to stand up he can, so I thought that was a terrific aspect of the game."
 
Wells is a game breaker. The 26-year-old not only wins the ball at stoppages, he breaks the lines using his superior evasive skills and athletic ability to run with the ball. While he suffers from having inexperience around him, as he needs to play as both an inside and outside role at all times, he has been a resilient performer. Only in 2009 (when injury kept him to seven games) has he played fewer than 18 matches per season.
 
In a game where players have 'roles' and 'contribute', Wells inadvertently adds a poetic element to the performance for observers. He glides across the ground, his feet singing as he dummies, evades, baulks and then delivers with as close to precision anyone can realistically achieve.
 
Scott said observers should look at Wells' performance over the past two seasons if they want to see a true picture of his quality rather than setting expectations that could only be fulfilled - and only just, we imagine - if the midfielder became the greatest player the game has seen.
 
Wells' disappointment at the loss was genuine and easy to observe. He understands Geelong has bigger bodies and more experience but he did not think that was a realistic excuse. "It's more of a mindset than anything," he said of the Kangaroos' inability to match it with Geelong. 
 
Mindset could be a word to describe the entrenched attitude many have towards Wells. Hopefully that is changing as he is a quality midfielder continually proving his worth against the best. "People unfairly, at times, have criticised him," said Scott.