KELLY: NO REGRETS
AFL:
Josh Kelly doesn’t need a flag as proof he made the right call when he signed a new Giants contract earlier this year – he only needs to look at his phone.
The star midfielder was the subject of ‘will he, won’t he’ speculation before pen was put to paper on a two-year deal in April.
He didn’t know then that five months later he’d be preparing for a grand final. All he knew was that he was in the right place for success – at some stage.
“I don’t need a premiership to vindicate my decision to stay here,” he said. “The reason I stayed is because we’re a special club. I knew we could be here (grand final) but to be here right now is super exciting.”
Sport can be cutthroat. The player in possession of the guernsey is happy, those out in the cold can be a problem. They grumble, they moan, they whisper, they sow disharmony. But not in Giants land. Kelly happily offered up an example about a club that really is in it together.
As the 22 players who saw off Collingwood last week celebrated at the MCG, those teammates who didn’t even make it on to the plane south, never mind the field, gathered to watch, together, on a couch in a front room.
“This Whatsapp video message comes through,” Kelly said. “There were 10 to 15 of the boys. People like Jack Buckley, Jye Caldwell, Jackson Hately. They were so happy, the pure excitement on their faces. That’s what I’m talking about.”
Fingernails have been bitten down to the quick in the last two weeks.
The 24-year-old can’t promise it won’t extend to three in a row but points to the fact that when the pressure was on, the Giants stood firm.
“That’s a positive I really take from it all,” he said. “We know we can play good footy when the pressure is on.”
And while happy to enjoy the noise that comes with grand final week, the goal remains clearly sighted. A smile creeps across Kelly’s face. “We’re not done, yet. ” Kelly will again lead the Giants’ midfield with selfless GWS vice-captain Stephen Coniglio ruling himself out of playing.
Coniglio, who has missed nine games with a knee injury, made the decision after training yesterday.
“This is a selfless decision by Stephen and typical of the man he is,” said GWS general manager of football Wayne Campbell.
Co-captain Phil Davis and Lachie Whitfield are expected to be named in the side today.