WHY I WAS SAD IN GEELONG
TK not missing ‘cold, miserable’ Geelong
STAR midfielder Tim Kelly has revealed he lived dual lives during his two years at Geelong as he balanced his brilliance on field with homesickness.
Kelly was drafted to the Cats before the 2018 season and his partner Caitlin gave birth to twin boys weeks later.
That left the Kelly clan to relocate from Western Australia to Geelong with three children under the age of three.
Kelly immediately slotted into the Cats’ midfield but it wasn’t such smooth sailing at home.
“I had a great start to my career and was playing really good footy and absolutely thriving in the environment I was in,” Kelly told the Rip Through It podcast.
“I would get home and it was a different story, especially Caitlin felt extremely home bound.
“Having no family and friends close by is tough and when you have three kids under 2½ it’s very hard to leave the house. The weather over there (Geelong) is most of the time cold and miserable.
“My twins were four weeks old when they moved over, so there wasn’t a lot of leaving the house. To be honest, it was tough. I was loving life playing footy and then I would get home and be seeing the world through her (Caitlin’s) eyes.”
While the smooth mover made an immediate impression on field with the Cats, the isolation of his home life led to a trade request to West Coast after the 2018 season.
Kelly would eventually get to his club of choice after the 2019 season, in which he was outstanding and named in the All-Australian side.
He said it was “daunting” returning to the Cats after the first trade request but he was welcomed back by his teammates.
“No doubt the second year being at home (in Geelong) was a lot easier,” he said.
“I had my cousin come over and live with us and that was great for me and Caitlin to have someone we know and trust to watch the kids.
“We were a lot more happy and I felt like I was playing better and ultimately we put ourselves in a position where I fulfilled my contract and for us, we did want to get home and it’s where we will be a lot happier and end up anyway.”
Geelong received picks 14, 24 and 37 in the 2019 AFL Draft, plus a 2020 first round pick from West Coast for Kelly, pick 52 and a 2020 third round selection in the deal brokered in trade week.
Kelly said Geelong “put in a pretty good pitch late” to keep him before the trade went through.