Tim Kelly has settled into life in the west with aplomb, but his fantasy owners must be asking where his production has gone as his scoring averages have dropped over fifteen points in basic scoring over his last campaign at the Cattery. He plays the same sort of role at the Eagles, rotating between central midfield and a half forward flank, but West Coast tends not to overuse the ball in midfield. On occasions when the team does play slow, the Eagles backline are the ones playing kick to kick. This adds up to a similar Supercoach average but lower Dream Team numbers, sadly.
Tim Kelly has settled into life in the west with aplomb, but his fantasy owners must be asking where his production has gone as his scoring averages have dropped over fifteen points in basic scoring over his last campaign at the Cattery. He plays the same sort of role at the Eagles, rotating between central midfield and a half forward flank, but West Coast tends not to overuse the ball in midfield. On occasions when the team does play slow, the Eagles backline are the ones playing kick to kick. This adds up to a similar Supercoach average but lower Dream Team numbers, sadly.
Such is life in the west
After two stellar years at Geelong as a mature-aged recruit out of the WAFL, Tim Kelly returns home to join an Eagles midfield where more will be expected of him than at the Cats. He is about twice the player he is nominally set to replace in Chris Masten, at least statistically, though his skill set is much more inside. He is usually good for a goal per game to add to his 25 possessions, though many are kicked from midfield rather than during his forward resting stints. A complete player. We are probably at the point now where Kelly is overrated, such was the media frenzy over his off-season move. Having said that, there's every chance he could pull a Tom Mitchell and win a Brownlow in his first year after a trade. We can't expect a similar explosion in stats, but his upgraded status as part of the A-rotation at West Coast can't be ignored and he has considerable upside of ten points or more. Even as a mid only, he should be and will be picked in early rounds.
The newest Kelly Cat
Tim Kelly showcased perhaps the most outstanding debut season since Michael Barlow. The silky-skilled midfielder played on the wing and rotated through the centre bounces, ranking sixth at the club for touches and finishing equal second in Geelong’s best & fairest. The mature-age recruit burst onto the scene in 2018 and looks primed to echo his stellar first season. He’ll shake off the disappointment of not getting traded to the Eagles, and he’ll put his head down and deliver again. Kelly would be excellent depth in any fantasy midfield and would warrant a pick in the middle rounds.
Tim Kelly has been one of the better stories in fantasy football this year, and woe betide you if you missed the boat on his stellar start to 2018. The question at this point is how long to hold onto him, as his numbers have dropped off over the past three weeks, perhaps somewhat affected by the return of Gary Ablett jnr but also that he is experiencing the first season at senior level and probably needs a rest. If you have held onto him this long, you'll be hoping for one final big score in this game where the Cats should dominate.
Kelly joins new gang
Geelong picked Tim Kelly out of the WAFL where he had built a career for South Fremantle over five years that built to 2017 levels of 26 touches, four marks, four tackles and a goal for 102 fantasy points, finishing second in the Sandover Medal. He also booted seven goals in one game last season when starting forward. Comparisons with Patrick Dangerfield are fraught with inflation these days, but Kelly has that ability to sprint away from packs after extracting it himself - plus Danger's problems with kicking. Geelong have been topping up since Dangerfield arrived, and in Kelly they have a ready-made round 1 starter if he shows preseason form. A good JLT will boost his draft stocks even further, following the inevitable hype coming from those wanting to buy him for salary cap competitions. Someone will reach for him in middle rounds of your draft, as his upside is Michael Barlow-sized. It should be remembered that he will be strictly B rotation given the rolled-gold talent in the middle, so projections should be realistic.
