Magpies pinch another Kelly lad

COLLINGWOOD premiership star Craig Kelly has no doubt his son Will is going to thrive as a Magpie.

He has all the athletic attributes Kelly lacked and none of the niggling tactics he was forced to fall back on.

“He is better by a mile,’’ said Craig Kelly after the Pies matched Adelaide’s bid for the father-son candidate.

“He can run, he can mark and he can kick and he doesn’t pinch and carry on like an idiot, so he is better than me.”

Kelly yesterday became the No. 29 pick of this week’s draft, with Adelaide’s bid to lure him to play alongside brother Jake always going to fall short.

Craig Kelly had more talent than he will admit, but son Will has a more rounded interceptrebound game.

The Oakleigh Chargers 196cm tall was forced to wait into the second day of the draft, calming his mind with a night of Netflix when sleep eluded him on Thursday.

But with coach Nathan Buckley backing list manager Ned Guy’s determination to secure the son of 1990 premiership forward Craig, he was always going to find his way to the Pies.

At pick 77 the Pies selected Atu Bosenavulagi, a next generation academy small forward of Fijian heritage who counts Pies identity “Joffa” as a second grandpa.

The Pies paid less for Isaac Quaynor and Kelly than they had expected, allowing them to trade out a mid-60s pick this year and turn it into a 2019 fourth-round pick.

Kelly will face a delayed start to the pre-season after foot surgery, but his father was thrilled he was finally able to get to the Pies.

“The club wasn’t sure what was going to happen with Isaac, if he went early and what happened then with going into [points] deficit,” Craig Kelly said. “But Ned Guy and [national recruiting manager] Derek (Hine) were terrific, and Bucks was pretty keen to have a look at it. They were pretty keen to do the deal, and it was just a matter of what they had to give up.”

Craig Kelly said despite perceptions about the Pies overlooking elder son Jake, their willingness to play him in the VFL late in his draft year had actually paved the way for him to find his way to Adelaide.

Will Kelly might need to bide his time in the VFL to put on size.