Ben Keays has a particular set of skills that are at elite AFL level, with his speed out of a contest primary among them. Unfortunately for him, one of the most important skills at senior level is quality of disposal by foot, an area of his game which has serious deficiencies. Nevertheless, Adelaide's need for acceleration from its midfield is so dire that they may turn back to the man they call Pidgeot despite his lack of polish, saddled as they are with a fairly slow set of inside mids. Perhaps he has learned a thing or two about his forward targets during his time in attack.
Ben Keays has a particular set of skills that are at elite AFL level, with his speed out of a contest primary among them. Unfortunately for him, one of the most important skills at senior level is quality of disposal by foot, an area of his game which has serious deficiencies. Nevertheless, Adelaide's need for acceleration from its midfield is so dire that they may turn back to the man they call Pidgeot despite his lack of polish, saddled as they are with a fairly slow set of inside mids. Perhaps he has learned a thing or two about his forward targets during his time in attack.
Ben Keays has carved out a niche in the best 22 for Adelaide as a dangerous small forward who is also capable of playing a shutdown role on an opposition rebounder, plus rotating through the centre when the Crows are getting belted in clearances. He posted a personal best five-goal haul in a best-on-ground performance against the Bombers and was called uypon the next week to solve Adelaide's midfield deficiencies in the Hawks game. It's that sort of role for Keays, who has had his time as a full-time mid and proved to not be the greatest two-way runner.
Ben Keays started his career at Brisbane as an inside midfielder who couldn't break into the senior team in that role, and mouldered in a small forward role to which he was not suited. At Adelaide he was given his chance at the coalface and turned into one of the more prolific accumulators in the league, making him a hot pick in fantasy leagues. However, across the last few rounds the Crows hierarchy have decided in their wisdom to play him in a small forward role once again, giving Sam Berry his spot in the centre. You just can't trust rebuilding sides.
Ben Keays has burst out of the blocks in 2022 with some very nice fantasy scores, building on his breakout campaign where he settled nicely into the Adelaide engine room following some disappointing years at Brisbane. Injuries to teammates gave him more opportunity but he is most definitely best 22 now, perhaps not the most gifted disposer of the foot but accumulating enough of it to have an overall positive effect for his team. Fantasy coaches love his style, prolific and tireless, and some have even traded him in this week searching for a top 8 midfield keeper.
Ben Keays has quietly been putting up some very large numbers in recent weeks for Adelaide, both in wins and losses. His role for the Crows is pure mid, unlike his time at Brisbane where he was unfairly pigeonholed as a small forward. He is enjoying more responsibility with both Crouches out of last year's side, and obviously has some excellent talents for accumulation even if his touches are not always clean. He is the Aaron Hall of 2021, a B-grade player who can score like an A-grader due to superior workrate. Such players are gold for fantasy.
Ben Keays has reinvigorated a career that was on the skids at Brisbane, where he was mostly played out of position as a small forward. Adelaide have given him the keys to the engine room, and he has responded by becoming a K-Mart Brad Crouch, replacing that inside-outside role at a lesser quality level for a lot less salary cap damage. He is turning into Aaron Hall mark II, a B-grade player with A-grade accumulation skills, who can make a short-term living for himself racking up stats in a manner beloved by fantasy coaches. Ride the wave!
Ben Keays put up some gaudy numbers in the shock round one victory by Adelaide over Geelong, part of a total team performance that was notable for pressure and conversion. Plenty of fantasy coaches jumped on board last week, but Sydney turned out to be a tougher opponent in midfield and forwards like Rowe were relatively starved of supply in a five-goal loss. As a genuine forward pocket who starts deep, his fantasy production was always going to be reliant on events upfield, and the Crows aren't going to dominate every week.
Ben Keays has found a niche at Adelaide after an unimpressive stint at Brisbane, escaping the pressure forward straitjacket to play a midfield role tagging the opposition's best midfielder. His results in this new role have not been particularly imposing either, as he pays attention to his victim at stoppages but not much in between, but the Crows don't have much in the cupboard at the moment so they appear to be persisting with him for the rest of their winless season. He can win his own footy Jack Steele style, so for fantasy he is worth a look in daily formats.
Singing in wrong Keays?
Fresh off an unhappy Brisbane stint mouldering in an unsuited deep forward role where Ben Keays could not convince the coaches to let him play his natural game in central midfield, he was picked up by the Crows who are in great need for a crumbing forward but stacked in the engine room. The reason for the pick is that despite 11 goals in 30 senior appearances, Keays booted 43.19 from 16 NEAFL games last season, as compared to 14.17 from 16 in 2018. The Crows did not expend much in the way of draft treasure to secure him, and will hope that Keays can finally translate that lower level form to the big league. It can be surmised that the main reason that he was not picked for the senior side during their finals run was that the club wanted to isolate Charlie Cameron deep forward and Keays' talents did not fit in that structure. He will probably get elevated to make his case during 2020, at which point someone should pick him up as a free agent.
Free Keays, free Keays
The story of Ben Keays is a bit of a sad one so far. He can rack it up playing inside midfield, as he did at junior level and in the NEAFL where he goes at a rate of 27 disposals, five tackles and 111 fantasy points. At senior level he is deemed only suitable for a deep forward role at which he - not to put too fine a point on it - sucks. The AFL is full of stories of ball magnets at junior level who had to fit into senior systems by learning new skills, like Matthew Broadbent and Aaron Hall. Keays hasn't been able to convince his coaches to let him play his natural game in the ones, and until he does there is no point drafting him in fantasy leagues.
Keays still locked away
The good news for Ben Keays in 2017 was that he was freed up from the forward pocket dead zone to start in midfield. The bad news was that he was mostly starting on a wing, which is not his go as his speciality is inside midfield. His senior disposal average of 15 was in stark contrast to his NEAFL accumulation at a rate of 28. Theoretically, Tom Rockliff leaving means Keays is primed to get more opportunity in the guts. The fact that he only played two senior games post the byes last year indicates he might not yet have the confidence of Chris Fagan. If he is given a chance in the JLT to get his shovel out to stoke the fires in the engine room, that might be the making of him. A high upside late pick.
