Brian Kelly (born 20 May 1996) is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a for the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. He played for the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. Kelly played for Country NSW and the

Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...

Background

Kelly was born in

Lismore, New South Wales, Australia Lismore is a city in northeastern New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area; it is also a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State. It is situated on a low flood pla ...

. He is of

descent from

Bundjalung people The Bundjalung people, also spelt Bunjalung, Badjalang and Bandjalang, are Aboriginal Australians who are the original custodians of the northern coastal area of New South Wales, Australia, located approximately northeast of Sydney, an area th ...

. He played his junior rugby league for the

Ballina Seagulls Ballina Seagulls Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Ballina, New South Wales formed in the late 1920s. The club has both junior and senior teams. Team of the century To coincide with the centenary o ...

and

Lennox Head Dolphins Group 18 is the name of a junior rugby league competition on the far north coast of New South Wales, Australia. Currently, the group has no senior competition. Prior to 2005, there was a joint Gold Coast-Group 18 competition which fielded tea ...

. He was then signed by the

. Kelly is a cousin of

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

player

Albert Kelly Albert Kelly (born 21 March 1991) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Brisbane Rugby League. He has previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Gold Coa ...

and

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

player James Roberts.

Playing career

Early career

From 2014 to 2016, Kelly played for the Gold Coast Titans'

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

team. In July 2015, he played for the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

under-20s team against the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

under-20s team. In September 2015, he re-signed with the Titans on a 2-year contract until the end of 2017. In May 2016, he played for the

Junior Kangaroos The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name. Since 2019, they are an under-23 side, with players selected from the NRL. The ...

against the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

. In November 2016, he signed a 3-year contract with the

starting in 2017, after gaining a release from the final year of his Titans contract.

2017

In round 1 of the

2017 NRL season The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...

, Kelly made his

debut for the Sea Eagles against the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

, scoring a try. On 7 May, Kelly played for Country in the last

City vs Country A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

origin, starting on the left wing in a 10–20 loss at Mudgee.

2018

On 8 November, Kelly was released from the final year of his contract to join the

on a two-year deal.

2019

Kelly made a total of 23 appearances for the Gold Coast in the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

as the club endured a horror year on and off the field. During the halfway mark of the season, head coach

Garth Brennan Garth Brennan (born 18 February 1972) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who was the head coach of the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. He previously held coaching positions at the Newcastle Knights and the Penrith Panthers ...

was sacked by the club after a string of poor results. The Gold Coast managed to win only 4 games for the entire season and finished last claiming the

Wooden Spoon Wooden Spoon may refer to: * Wooden spoon, implement * Wooden spoon (award) A wooden spoon is an award that is given to an individual or team that has come last in a competition. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous e ...

2020

During the 2020

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and under new NRL biosecurity measures Kelly refused to vaccinate against the flu. He was stood down from the Titans after the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

stood by the flu vaccination measures previously agreed to by the NRL that 100% of players would be vaccinated prior to the competition restarting. He was given a last minute reprieve from suspension after agreeing to vaccinate.

2021

Kelly played 21 games for the Gold Coast in the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

including the club's elimination final loss to the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

2022

In round 24 of the 2022 NRL season, Kelly was sent off for a dangerous tackle in the Gold Coast's 36-26 spoon bowl match victory over

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Kelly played a total of 17 games for the Gold Coast in the 2022 season scoring seven tries as the club finished 13th on the table.

References

External links

Gold Coast Titans profileManly Sea Eagles profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Brian 1996 births Living people Australian rugby league players Bundjalung people Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Indigenous Australian rugby league players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Junior Kangaroos players Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers Gold Coast Titans players Prime Minister's XIII players Rugby league players from Lismore, New South Wales