Kelly a key for Cats
Young star’s best just around the corner
PICTURE this: you are in your first season of the AFL and your team is sitting at 4-3.
Each week you find yourself lining up alongside guys like Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett and Patrick Dangerfield.
And, despite playing against some of the game’s biggest names, you’re averaging 22.4 disposals per game and are statistically rated above average for metres gained, score involvements and pressure points.
Commentators are saying opposition coaches should be questioning their recruiters about how you could possibly have slipped through the cracks.
This was Tim Kelly’s story after the opening seven matches of his debut AFL season.
From the get-go, the 23-yearold made it clear he hadn’t arrived on the big stage to play a minor role — he was one of the biggest stars of the show for the Cats, highlighted by goals in each of his first six matches.
But in the past six weeks, with Ablett, Selwood and Dangerfield all fit and firing, Kelly’s role has looked slightly different.
His numbers have been down, slightly, but it hasn’t been of any great concern, given his output in other areas has lifted. His clearance stats, for instance, have improved, which means he is winning the ball on the inside and providing support where the Cats have needed it.
But it illustrates how quickly things can change at the top level.
Opposition clubs work tirelessly to find any supposed weakness players have and look to exploit it.
But they also find their strengths and try to limit the damage they can cause.
There are few weaknesses in Kelly’s game, but the extra atten- tion means he has had less time and less space on the outside than he had become used to.
That is where he can hurt his opponents the most and why so much effort has gone into stopping him since the blistering start to his AFL career.
As a result he has gone from averaging 380 metres gained per match — rated as above average — down to 239 (below average).
His score involvements and pressure points have dropped from above average to below average.
Ablett’s return to the type of form that earned him two Brownlow medals has clearly been a major positive for Geelong and Selwood has led from the front all year. Mitch Duncan and Sam Menegola are again having a major impact on how the Cats perform.
Their ability to win the ball as often as they do allows Dangerfield to spend more time forward.
But it is Kelly’s addition to the midfield mix that has provided the fresh look and new dynamic the Cats’ engine room was lacking.
Kelly, who is one of just eight Cats to have played every game this year, showed that in the opening seven rounds.
So, while he has been slightly quieter of late, you get the feeling his workrate behind closed doors — he is an elite trainer — will dictate that it won’t be long until that spark, that run and carry that so enthralled football lovers, will be back. THE honesty from Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge. His message after the gut-wrenching loss to North Melbourne was refreshing in an age when so many coaches look to defend players for mistakes. People don’t like being treated as fools and most of the time you can see through attempts to deflect unwanted attention on individuals. Clearly some people handle criticism differently and coaches need to be considerate of different situations but fans deserve to know the truth and if Beveridge has delivered a spray for the manner in which his team failed to shut the game down when it had the match in its keeping then there is nothing wrong with him publicly expressing that. WEST COAST. Credit has to go to Essendon but Adam Simpson must be wondering if that was the same team that had worked itself into top spot on the ladder that played on Thursday night. That is two losses in a row for the Eagles but that was the worst of them by the length of the Flemington straight. Suddenly the fortress that was Perth Stadium looks vulnerable. West Coast has now played eight games and won six at its new home ground so the record is strong, but three of those victories were by 15 points or less. It’s true that Simpson’s men need to learn how to kick a winning score without Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling, but the loss can’t be blamed only on personnel. A huge clash with Adelaide awaits.