Player Watch Ben Keays

Aug 9, 2019
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Victorian Central Highlands
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Checks back through thread

Did not write him off (in this thread anyway).

Fantastic pick up and the perfect type of player/person you want playing in a developing side.

Thought his decision making was a lot better last night. Seems to be constantly learning and improving.
I certainly never wrote him off in fact I was quite bullish about us recruiting him. He was an outstanding junior and funnily enough considered to have pretty good foot skills albeit very one sided. You know a youngster can football when astute recruiter Simon Dalrymple (Western Bulldogs/Sydney Swans) just about the best in the business puts in a bid which the Lions quickly matched.

Never really got the opportunities he deserved at Brisbane coming in when that club was in turmoil with the Justin Leppitsch shitshow and what followed.

Lit the NEAFL up playing forward in his last year there but it was always obvious he was much more the midfielder that always had the potential to get forward and hit the scoreboard.
 
Aug 9, 2019
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I watched a shedload of the Lions NEAFL this season and this bloke absolutely killed it playing more as a forward than a mid. Smart pick with his size and versatility. Will play more AFL in 2020 than some may think.
:cool:
 
Aug 9, 2019
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I don't think we've taken on Ben Keays to play a forward role personally, my thinking is he'll be playing a lot more midfield than forward. I would be guessing but I reckon Brisbane only tried him up forward because they didn't see him breaking into their midfield any time soon with all the highly promising young mids they've brought in the last couple of drafts. Even in the NEAFL Ely Smith, Corey Lyons and Tom Berry etc were getting a run in the midfield before Keays all to do with development I'd think.

Watching Keays in the NEAFL he doesn't play the forward role like Eddie or Charlie Cameron etc even though he looked to play pretty close to goal mostly from what I saw. I think he plays midfield for us, the other bloke Crocker is the one that I think would be playing a lot of footy high half forward, might even have looked at him maybe replacing Tommy's role up forward down the track?
:cool:
 
The longer quarters definitely seem to suit him.

He looks in ripping touch - has basically replaced the bloke who previously wore the #2.
 

John Who

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 16, 2017
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Keays' consistency and willingness to learn and improve is what's allowing him to develop into a genuine AFL player. And good on him!
If his goalkicking can improve, then he's every chance to become an A-grader some day.
 
Mar 23, 2007
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Not as skilled or as explosive as the old number 2

But a much better attitude
In the early 90's I got dragged into some bullshit highschool after hours extra curricular thingo.

All I remember is the droning of an american voice saying

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAttudeeee

not

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAptidudeeeee

determines your

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAltitude

There's something to be said for indoctrination. Keays is drinking the kool aid, and it's wonderful.
 
25.7 disposals/6.3 cl/8 i50s/68.8 DE%/7.7 SI/562.3 mg

Pretty solid 3 weeks there from Keays.
No case of 2nd year blues at AFC... rather going from strength to strength.

Another midfielder who you know will always give a fair dinkum effort... & repeat effort.
 
Oct 20, 2007
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Another appreciation post for Keays, just an unconditional footballer, doesn’t matter if we’re up by 10 goals or down by 10 goals, still gives 110%. When so many of our players pick and choose when to put in it’s refreshing watching this bloke. Has to be leading the BandF I would imagine?
 
Nov 24, 2007
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Keays is averaging 5.4 tackles per game this year.

Over his career, Tony Lockett averaged 0.5.


Just saying.

yeah he’s 11 Times the midfielder Lockett was
 

arrowman

Brownlow Medallist
Jul 27, 2004
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I've been on the Keays Train since early on. Like many others, I just love the way he goes about it.

He gets knocked by some for his less-than-elite disposal, but I don't see his disposal as that bad, and in any case I think any shortcomings there are outweighed by the fact that he usually manages to clear the ball to our advantage; he gets forward / to advantage disposals in situations where other players would get locked up.

Because he keeps his arms free in the tackle, he always looks to move the ball forward or to an area where a teammate should be, he soccers / toe pokes a lot... If I were a Crows player and Keays was in the contest, I'd be moving to position knowing that he would be trying to get it to me.

I posted a while back that if we get to a place where Keays doesn't have a place in our starting midfield, we will have a very, very good midfield.
 
Aug 4, 2004
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Really love what Keays has been doing. Like everyone else, the way he goes about it, the 100% effort all the time, the repeat efforts, the tackling etc...make it really hard not to love what he is doing.

Is he a limited footballer? Yes. He doesn't have the skills or hurt factor of a J Kelly, but he is the exact sort of player you can build around. Having a guy like Keays, allows you to add class mids who are perhaps a bit more outside the contest.

He's a bull.
 

slice

Club Legend
Jul 4, 2008
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Really love what Keays has been doing. Like everyone else, the way he goes about it, the 100% effort all the time, the repeat efforts, the tackling etc...make it really hard not to love what he is doing.

Is he a limited footballer? Yes. He doesn't have the skills or hurt factor of a J Kelly, but he is the exact sort of player you can build around. Having a guy like Keays, allows you to add class mids who are perhaps a bit more outside the contest.

He's a bull.

Relax, he means Josh.
 
Oct 13, 2017
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If only his disposal by foot was better..

gives his all, is actually pretty quick and with either ball in hand or when chasing it down most of the time he easily runs away from his opponents, good tackler, always puts his opponents under pressure and he’s good in heavy traffic.

but his delivery by foot, even when he’s not under immediate pressure, into the forward line is average at best.. so many kicks to no one or to the advantage of the opponent.

if he could clean that part of his game up he’d be a gun
 
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