WHY BEN HAS THE KEAYS TO THE CROWS
IN the space of three years, Ben Keays has gone from Brisbane reject to a member of Adelaide’s leadership group.
It’s been a remarkable transformation for the 25-year-old, whose early-season stats put him among the likes of Travis Boak, Jack Macrae and Lachie Neale as the game’s leading disposal getters.
But Keays says his rise as a leader and ball winner is a testament to the Crows.
“It’s only the start of the third year but it feels a lot longer than that,” he said.
“The personnel around the club has been huge in this, some of the guys are so warm and it has made the environment so fun.
“But above all that, we have guys who just want to get better and that’s what I love.”
Keays is settled on and off the field in Adelaide.
Having grown up in Brisbane before being cut by the Lions, Keays has now purchased a place in Adelaide – living with Crows teammate and fellow former Lion Mitch Hinge.
“He’s a really good mate of mine, he mows the lawns and does the gardening off his own bat which is great,” he said.
On the field, Keays has been one of the better performers for the Crows.
After four games he is averaging an incredible 31 disposals per match, along with six tackles and 5.75 clearances.
He has also found himself with the final kick in two of Adelaide’s close losses, to Fremantle in round 1 and Essendon in round 4.
A sensational spoil by the Dockers’ Heath Chapman denied Keays the chance to at least level the game in round 1, while he wasn’t able to find a
Crow with another late inside-50 entry against the Bombers last week.
“It’s good that I’m getting in those positions I guess,” he said.
“But the next level is obviously going to be what decision you make late in the game.
“You are tired and the crowd is up and about so there is a fair bit going on and a bit to go through in those late stages of the game. But we need to turn those close losses into wins.
“To be 1-3 isn’t what we wanted but I don’t want to really get too caught up in the wins and losses,” he said.
“Hopefully we can stick to our processes, tweak a few things and the results will come.
“I think we are in a good space but being in a good space doesn’t equate to wins so we know what we’ve got to do.”
This starts with an Easter Saturday clash against Richmond at Adelaide Oval.
After the loss to Essendon, Adelaide has faced questions about what type of team it wants to be. Keays said it was pretty clear in his mind.
“I think we know what team we want to be,” he said.
“We are a high-pressure team, we want to play in the front half, be aggressive and hunt and we have the personnel to do it. We just need to build our connection across all lines.”
A member of the leadership group now, Keays has a big role in this.
“I guess my role now is to try and view everything from a team perspective,” he said.
“I’m a pretty self motivated guy so I know my vision of what I want to be and what player I can be but my role this year is just helping the boys around our game style, making sure we are connected, getting the message down from the coaches.
“And just trying to help guys be better.”