James Kelly (born 29 December 1983) is a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 20 ...

and

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...

(AFL).

Playing career

Since

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, Kelly has played with the

. Playing as an on-baller in the powerful midfield, he has shown capability in gaining many possessions and running well, as well as showing great courage. Kelly, is a natural born leader who has played a pivotal role in Geelong's dominant era, one of only twelve players to play in all three of Geelong's recent premierships. He was a member of Geelong's 2006 NAB Cup Premiership team, as well as the drought-breaking 2007 AFL Premiership Team. He was also a member of Geelong's losing side in the 2008 Grand Final and their victorious sides in the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

and

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

Grand Finals. He was delisted at the end of the

2015 AFL season The 2015 AFL season was the 119th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured eigh ...

, despite averaging 20.5 disposals in 17 games, he subsequently retired from the AFL before signing with the

in January 2016 as a top-up player in the wake of the club's supplements scandal. Under the player top-up rules, he was delisted at the conclusion of the 2016 season, however, in November he re-signed with Essendon during the delisted free agency period. On 16 August 2017, Kelly retired from playing AFL after 313 games with Geelong and Essendon.

Coaching career

Kelly joined the Essendon coaching staff for the 2018 season and remained there for three years, retiring in February, 2021. Kelly re-joined Geelong as an assistant coach for the 2022 season

Statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 15 , , 7 , , 5 , , 137 , , 85 , , 222 , , 41 , , 49 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 9.1 , , 5.7 , , 14.8 , , 2.7 , , 3.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 18 , , 6 , , 8 , , 129 , , 109 , , 238 , , 43 , , 55 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 7.2 , , 6.1 , , 13.2 , , 2.4 , , 3.1 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 13 , , 9 , , 4 , , 151 , , 84 , , 235 , , 48 , , 41 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 11.6 , , 6.5 , , 18.1 , , 3.7 , , 3.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 24 , , 13 , , 7 , , 254 , , 178 , , 432 , , 95 , , 83 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 10.6 , , 7.4 , , 18.0 , , 4.0 , , 3.5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 15 , , 7 , , 2 , , 134 , , 119 , , 253 , , 48 , , 40 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 8.9 , , 7.9 , , 16.9 , , 3.2 , , 2.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 23 , , 11 , , 10 , , 201 , , 246 , , 447 , , 85 , , 84 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 8.7 , , 10.7 , , 19.4 , , 3.7 , , 3.7 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 21 , , 8 , , 7 , , 196 , , 232 , , 428 , , 95 , , 112 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 9.3 , , 11.0 , , 20.4 , , 4.5 , , 5.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 18 , , 2 , , 2 , , 195 , , 212 , , 407 , , 88 , , 55 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 10.8 , , 11.8 , , 22.6 , , 4.9 , , 3.1 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 23 , , 7 , , 1 , , 257 , , 301 , , 558 , , 87 , , 140 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 11.2 , , 13.1 , , 24.3 , , 3.8 , , 6.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 24 , , 5 , , 12 , , 319 , , 258 , , 577 , , 62 , , 186 , , 0.2 , , 0.5 , , 13.3 , , 10.8 , , 24.0 , , 2.6 , , 7.8 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 19 , , 2 , , 5 , , 257 , , 213 , , 470 , , 59 , , 128 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 13.5 , , 11.2 , , 24.7 , , 3.1 , , 6.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 20 , , 10 , , 12 , , 234 , , 202 , , 436 , , 50 , , 153 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 11.7 , , 10.1 , , 21.8 , , 2.5 , , 7.7 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 23 , , 0 , , 4 , , 312 , , 176 , , 488 , , 113 , , 89 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 13.6 , , 7.6 , , 21.2 , , 4.9 , , 3.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 17 , , 1 , , 7 , , 185 , , 163 , , 348 , , 80 , , 71 , , 0.1 , , 0.4 , , 10.9 , , 9.6 , , 20.5 , , 4.7 , , 4.2 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 47 , , 20 , , 2 , , 3 , , 268 , , 238 , , 506 , , 129 , , 86 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 13.4 , , 11.9 , , 25.3 , , 6.5 , , 4.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 47 , , 20 , , 0 , , 0 , , 209 , , 196 , , 405 , , 115 , , 74 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 10.5 , , 9.8 , , 20.3 , , 5.8 , , 3.7 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 313 ! 90 ! 89 ! 3438 ! 3012 ! 6450 ! 1238 ! 1446 ! 0.3 ! 0.3 ! 11.0 ! 9.6 ! 20.6 ! 4.0 ! 4.6

Personal life

In 2008, Kelly was an ambassador for an anti-alcohol-fuelled violence campaign run by the '' Geelong Advertiser'' titled "Just Think". In this role, Kelly appeared in advertising alongside fellow ambassadors, and Geelong teammates,

Tom Harley Thomas Harley (born 18 July 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A defender at and , Harley is a two ...

and David Wojcinski.

Honours

AFL * 3× AFL Premiership: (

) * 2× AFL Pre-Season Premiership: (

) *

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led b ...

: 2011 *

Jim Stynes Medal The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (se ...

: 2011 *

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

nominee:

Geelong * Geelong FC Best First Year Player Award: (2002) * VFL Premiership Player: (2002) TAC Cup * TAC Cup Premiership: (2001) *

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Vict ...

Team of the Year: (2001)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, James Essendon Football Club players Geelong Football Club players Geelong Football Club Premiership players 1983 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Calder Cannons players All-Australians (AFL) Southern Districts Football Club players Australia international rules football team players Three-time VFL/AFL Premiership players