Daniel McAlister is an Australian rules footballer notable for his brief appearance in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 for the Essendon Football Club

Essendon Football Club

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

.

McAlister was born in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Of Māori heritage, he is one of few Maori Australian

Maori Australian

A Māori Australian is an Australian of Māori heritage. In 2008, there were approximately 100,000 people with Māori ancestry living in Australia. Māori Australians constitute Australia's largest Polynesian ethnic group...

s in the history of the VFL/AFL.

McAlister grew up playing rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 and rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 as a junior in Taranaki.

His family emigrated to Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 when Daniel was 12, and after starting as a boundary umpire he played junior Australian rules in Smithton

Smithton, Tasmania

Smithton is a town in the far north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It lies on the Bass Highway, 85 km north-west of Burnie. At the 2006 census, Smithton had a population of 3,361. Smithton is the administrative centre of the Circular Head Council...

 before moving to Hobart

Hobart

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

 where he was selected in the Under 18 state team.

The 185 cm, 88 kg solidly built McAlister played just 6 games in three seasons between 1997 and 2002.

Originally taken as a rookie, McAlister was delisted after playing just 2 senior games.

Surprisingly, he was re-drafted in the 2001 AFL Draft

2001 AFL Draft

The 2001 AFL Draft consisted of a national draft, a rookie draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League .In 2001 there were 83...

, picked up again by Essendon at pick #64.

He was delisted at the end of 2002 after which he was signed to play for the Wodonga Raiders in country Victoria.