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Cats on the rise, Kelly latest Rising Star
12:07:14 PM Tue 25 June, 2002
Francis Leach
afl.com.au
Talk about childhood footy fantasies. We’ve had them at sometime. You imagine yourself playing for your AFL team, it’s deep into the last quarter, your behind and the siren goes. One of your teammates has a shot at goal and wins you the game.
Or there’s the one where you come charging back from five goals down to steal a game you had thought was lost.
It’s the sort of stuff that belongs in a playground daydream but for the last two rounds both of these fairytales have come true for Geelong and its team of young men who seemed to have stepped straight from the school yard and into AFL footy.
Just over a week ago in Sydney, the Cats climbed off the deck at the SCG to pick-pocket the Swans. That win has had major ramifications for the Sydneysiders with some of their heroes now calling it quits.
While the Swans were saying goodbye to past glories, the Cats had every right to dream of future ones. And while it is not unusual for a bloke by the name of Kelly to pick up a stack of possessions at the SCG, this time it was a young man by the name of James Kelly,
wearing the blue and white hoop that was racking them up.
His 23 possessions helped his team to a memorable win as well as earning him the AFL Rising Star nomination for round 12.
“It’s been a pretty intense couple of weeks,” Kelly said. “A couple of close wins against Carlton and Sydney, It’s been good to be out there and I’ve been lucky to get a chance.”
You make your own luck. Kelly certainly did against the Swans. He had to make do with a seat on the bench for the first quarter of that game and it didn’t sit well with him. When he got his chance to cross the white line he was determined to make the most of it.
“I wasn’t happy when I started the game on the bench. Once I got out there I tried to get myself into the game as quickly as possible. I got a few early touches and it just seemed to follow on for the rest of the game.”
If the Cats have nine lives then there’s no doubt they’ve dipped into the kitty for two of them in their most recent games. It has been a thrill a minute for the fans – and also for the young Cats.
“I was pretty nervous there in the last quarter I didn’t think we were going to get up. To be out on the ground at the end of that game after coming back from that far down was a really huge buzz.”
James Kelly came to Geelong in the 2001 national draft. He was part of the Calder Cannons premiership team in the TAC Cup that year as well as playing for Victorian Metro in the 2001 AFL National Under 18 championship.
With Kelly’s pedigree in mind, Geelong did a deal to swap Clint Bizzell to Melbourne. With the extra pick they got in that deal, Kelly was taken at number 17 in the draft. The Cats couldn’t be happier.
It is part of Mark Thompson’s unshakable commitment to building a youthful dynasty in Geelong. And the players, like James Kelly clearly share his vision.
“’Bomber’ has been really fantastic giving all the boys a run. He’s made it clear that there’s a youth policy at the club and he really wants to promote the young blokes so that the club can be a force in coming years.”
“I've known a few of the guys from the under 18 competition and David Johnson (another of the young Cats) is a mate from my home town Sunbury. It’s great to be at a club with a bunch of young guys who you can build some good relationships with.”
As the Cats face the second half of the season with restored confidence, Kelly knows it’s up to him to make sure he’s part of the action at the business end of things. He made his debut in the Wizard Cup but had to wait until round six for his first senior game. He then went back to the VFL for a few weeks before grabbing his chance in the last few matches. Nothing comes easy at this level and has learnt to not place too many demands on himself.
“It was an ambition to play senior footy this year but I wouldn’t have been too disappointed if I didn’t. I was rapt to get selected, but it’s been a bit up and down. In your first year you’re never going to get a clear run at it. You’ll never just walk into the team as a permanent member. To be part of the team at the half way point of the season is a real bonus.”
It’s turned out to be a win/win situation for a team and its fans that have enjoyed winning more than most in recent times.
And just maybe someday soon James Kelly and his Gang will make that ultimate footy fantasy, a premiership, come true for the Cats.
12:07:14 PM Tue 25 June, 2002
Francis Leach
afl.com.au
Talk about childhood footy fantasies. We’ve had them at sometime. You imagine yourself playing for your AFL team, it’s deep into the last quarter, your behind and the siren goes. One of your teammates has a shot at goal and wins you the game.
Or there’s the one where you come charging back from five goals down to steal a game you had thought was lost.
It’s the sort of stuff that belongs in a playground daydream but for the last two rounds both of these fairytales have come true for Geelong and its team of young men who seemed to have stepped straight from the school yard and into AFL footy.
Just over a week ago in Sydney, the Cats climbed off the deck at the SCG to pick-pocket the Swans. That win has had major ramifications for the Sydneysiders with some of their heroes now calling it quits.
While the Swans were saying goodbye to past glories, the Cats had every right to dream of future ones. And while it is not unusual for a bloke by the name of Kelly to pick up a stack of possessions at the SCG, this time it was a young man by the name of James Kelly,
wearing the blue and white hoop that was racking them up.
His 23 possessions helped his team to a memorable win as well as earning him the AFL Rising Star nomination for round 12.
“It’s been a pretty intense couple of weeks,” Kelly said. “A couple of close wins against Carlton and Sydney, It’s been good to be out there and I’ve been lucky to get a chance.”
You make your own luck. Kelly certainly did against the Swans. He had to make do with a seat on the bench for the first quarter of that game and it didn’t sit well with him. When he got his chance to cross the white line he was determined to make the most of it.
“I wasn’t happy when I started the game on the bench. Once I got out there I tried to get myself into the game as quickly as possible. I got a few early touches and it just seemed to follow on for the rest of the game.”
If the Cats have nine lives then there’s no doubt they’ve dipped into the kitty for two of them in their most recent games. It has been a thrill a minute for the fans – and also for the young Cats.
“I was pretty nervous there in the last quarter I didn’t think we were going to get up. To be out on the ground at the end of that game after coming back from that far down was a really huge buzz.”
James Kelly came to Geelong in the 2001 national draft. He was part of the Calder Cannons premiership team in the TAC Cup that year as well as playing for Victorian Metro in the 2001 AFL National Under 18 championship.
With Kelly’s pedigree in mind, Geelong did a deal to swap Clint Bizzell to Melbourne. With the extra pick they got in that deal, Kelly was taken at number 17 in the draft. The Cats couldn’t be happier.
It is part of Mark Thompson’s unshakable commitment to building a youthful dynasty in Geelong. And the players, like James Kelly clearly share his vision.
“’Bomber’ has been really fantastic giving all the boys a run. He’s made it clear that there’s a youth policy at the club and he really wants to promote the young blokes so that the club can be a force in coming years.”
“I've known a few of the guys from the under 18 competition and David Johnson (another of the young Cats) is a mate from my home town Sunbury. It’s great to be at a club with a bunch of young guys who you can build some good relationships with.”
As the Cats face the second half of the season with restored confidence, Kelly knows it’s up to him to make sure he’s part of the action at the business end of things. He made his debut in the Wizard Cup but had to wait until round six for his first senior game. He then went back to the VFL for a few weeks before grabbing his chance in the last few matches. Nothing comes easy at this level and has learnt to not place too many demands on himself.
“It was an ambition to play senior footy this year but I wouldn’t have been too disappointed if I didn’t. I was rapt to get selected, but it’s been a bit up and down. In your first year you’re never going to get a clear run at it. You’ll never just walk into the team as a permanent member. To be part of the team at the half way point of the season is a real bonus.”
It’s turned out to be a win/win situation for a team and its fans that have enjoyed winning more than most in recent times.
And just maybe someday soon James Kelly and his Gang will make that ultimate footy fantasy, a premiership, come true for the Cats.
