Jake Kelly (Australian footballer)

Jake Kelly (born 21 January 1995) is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having been initially drafted to the Adelaide Football Club. Kelly was drafted with pick 40 in the 2014 Rookie Draft, and is the son of former Collingwood player Craig.

Jake Kelly
Kelly playing for Adelaide in April 2017
Personal information
Full name Jake Kelly
Nickname(s) Kells, Bull
Date of birth (1995-01-21) 21 January 1995
Original team(s) Oakleigh Chargers (TAC Cup)
Collingwood (VFL)
Draft No. 40, 2014 rookie daft
Debut Round 3, 2015, Adelaide vs. Melbourne, at Adelaide Oval
Height 190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 90 kg (198 lb)
Position(s) Medium defender
Club information
Current club Essendon
Number 29
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2015–2021 Adelaide 110 (1)
2022– Essendon 38 (2)
Total 148 (3)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2023.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

The son of Collingwood premiership player Craig Kelly, Kelly played for the Kew Comets and the Glen Iris Gladiators, part of the Yarra Junior Football League, in his youth.[1] He then played for his high school Scotch College and the Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup and also made appearances for Collingwood's VFL side as a teenager. Though he wasn't originally on the list to appear at the national draft combine in 2013, he was added to the list after impressive form in the VFL.[2] At the combine he ran the third-fastest three-kilometre time trial, finishing in 9 minutes and 51 seconds.[3]

Collingwood had the option of nominating him as a father-son selection in the 2013 national draft, but they decided not to, instead saying they would consider selecting him as a father-son pick if he wasn't drafted in the national draft.[4] He wasn't selected in the draft, but Collingwood chose not to select him in their list anyway, forcing him to go to the rookie draft.[5] He was drafted by Adelaide with pick 40.[6]

AFL career

Rookie list (2014–2015)

Kelly started his career playing for Adelaide's reserves team in the SANFL. At the start of 2014 he was a standout in the inexperienced backline, successfully tagging several experienced SANFL forwards.[7] This form continued through the rest of the season as he performed well, nullifying some of the competition's best forwards while averaging 16 possessions and leading the club in marks. He was second in the reserves club's best and fairest.[8]

In early 2015, Kelly was elevated to the club's senior list, replacing the injured Brent Reilly.[9] He made his debut against Melbourne in round 3 of the season, laying 10 tackles in the match.[10] After playing ten games for the club, he was given a two-year contract, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2017 season.[11] At the end of the season he was officially promoted from the club's rookie list to their senior list.[12]

Senior list (2016–)

After suffering a hand injury, Kelly started to build form in the SANFL in 2016 and was considered a chance of replacing the injured Daniel Talia in the AFL side late in the season.[13] He ultimately failed to play a game in 2016 due to the team's impressive defensive performances, but performed reliably in the SANFL, averaging 20 disposals and ranking near the top of the club for rebound 50s, effective kicks and marks.[8] In the offseason Adelaide considered trading Kelly to Carlton as part of a deal to get Bryce Gibbs to the club, but Carlton were unwilling to go through with the trade so Kelly stayed with the Crows.[14]

For 2017, Kelly changed numbers from his old 47 to 8 after the departure of midfielder Mitch Grigg.[15] In training for the 2017 season he again proved his endurance ability, finishing first in a 2 km time trial out of Adelaide's squad.[16] Kelly had a chance to impress the Crows in the 2017 JLT Community Series, laying six tackles in the first match against Richmond.[17] He again pushed for senior selection in the Crows’ final JLT Series match against Brisbane Lions, where he had 16 possessions and took seven marks.[18] His pre-season form was enough to give him his first AFL match in 638 days in the Crows’ season opener.[19] Kelly missed the round five match against Gold Coast due to being poked in the eye in the previous game against Essendon,[20] but his form was good enough to keep his spot in the senior side for every other match of the season.[21] Having established himself as one of the club's most reliable defenders, conceding less than one game per goal, he was given another two-year contract extension.[22] He played in Adelaide's losing Grand Final effort against Richmond, where he had 20 possessions and 6 marks.[23]

Essendon

Kelly joined Essendon as a free agent at the conclusion of the 2021 AFL season.[24] Kelly made his debut in round 1 of his first season with the Bombers.[25] Kelly finished 7th in the Crichton Medal, Essendon's best and fairest award, at the end of his first season with the club.[26]

Player profile

As a junior, Kelly was a left-footed medium defender, capable of tagging both tall and small forwards and also with good rebounding skills.[2] Early in his career, he earned the nickname “Bull” from his teammates for his competitiveness.[27] His kicking was considered an issue, and was likely the reason that he was overlooked by Collingwood in 2013.[28]

Kelly's endurance running is one of his greatest assets. At the draft combine in 2013 he recorded the third-fastest time in the three-kilometre time trial,[3] and he again proved himself when he ran the fastest time in a two-kilometre time trial with Adelaide’s squad in the 2017 pre-season.[16]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to end of 2023[29]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2015Adelaide47 1001624710937310.00.16.24.710.93.73.1
2017Adelaide8 2400182174356104660.00.07.67.314.84.32.8
2018Adelaide8 191017813731596380.10.09.47.216.65.12.0
2019Adelaide8 2201214142356114600.00.19.76.516.25.22.7
2020[lower-alpha 1]Adelaide8 1500863912544380.00.05.72.68.32.92.5
2021Adelaide8 200021495309102420.00.010.74.815.55.12.1
2022Essendon29 2110196104300132270.10.09.35.014.36.31.3
2023Essendon29 171013610824491280.10.08.06.414.45.41.6
Career 14832126884621147203300.00.08.65.714.34.92.2

Notes

  1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References
  1. "YJFL Current AFL PLayers". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  2. Twomey, Callum (3 September 2013). "Son of Magpie gun gets draft combine call-up". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  3. Twomey, Callum (4 October 2017). "Vic speedster threatens 3km record as Draft Combine ends with a bang". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  4. Twomey, Callum (2 October 2013). "Magpies make call on son of premiership hero". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  5. Quayle, Emma (27 November 2013). "Magpies pass over Jake Kelly in rookie draft". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  6. Capel, Andrew (27 November 2013). "Crows swoop on James Battersby and Alex Spina, Port Adelaide snags Sam Gray". The Advertiser.
  7. Phillips, Max (7 May 2014). "Kelly honing his craft". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  8. "Jake Kelly - AFC.com.au". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
  9. Capel, Andrew (16 April 2015). "Adelaide upgrades rookie Jake Kelly to senior list in place of injured veteran Brent Reilly". The Advertiser.
  10. Homfray, Reece (18 April 2015). "How the Crows players rated against Melbourne at Adelaide Oval". The Advertiser.
  11. "New deal for Crows young gun Jake Kelly". The Advertiser. News Corp Australia.
  12. "Crows confirm list changes". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  13. Homfray, Reece (24 July 2016). "Tom Doedee, Jake Kelly in the frame for Crows promotion if Daniel Talia can't play". The Advertiser.
  14. McClure, Sam (20 October 2016). "AFL Trades 2016: Bryce Gibbs stays at Carlton after Adelaide trade falls through". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  15. "Young Crows change numbers". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  16. Gaskin, Lee (5 December 2016). "Young Crow upstages senior stars in time trial". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  17. "Fantasy form watch: JLT 1". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  18. Gaskin, Lee (11 March 2017). "Crows win attacking contest". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  19. Homfray, Reece (25 March 2017). "Patience rewarded as Andy Otten and Jake Kelly return to the Crows' side". The Advertiser. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  20. Gaskin, Lee (19 April 2017). "Crows defender ruled out of Suns clash". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  21. "Inside Football – AFL Player Ratings – Jake KELLY". AFLPlayerRatings.com.au. 1116 SEN. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  22. Olle, Sarah (14 August 2017). "Locked away: Jake Kelly, Riley Knight, Alex Keath and Tom Doedee sign two-year deals". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  23. Bowen, Nick (30 September 2017). "Match report: Terrific Tigers end 37-year wait". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  24. @AFL_House (1 October 2021). "The AFL has received paperwork for Unrestricted Free Agent Jake Kelly to sign with Essendon" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. "Round 1 Team Line-Ups". zerohanger.com. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  26. "Wright claims maiden Crichton Medal". essendonfc.com.au. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  27. Capel, Andrew (17 April 2015). "Crows debutant Jake Kelly is first and foremost a competitor, like his dad, say the Crows". The Advertiser. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  28. Capel, Andrew (14 May 2015). "The moment Adelaide Crows realised son of a gun Jake Kelly was something special". The Advertiser. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  29. "AFL Tables - Jake Kelly statistics". AFL Tables.
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