Adelaide defender Jake Kelly reveals the secret behind his current career-best form: the off button on his TV remote

As Jake Kelly revels in his career-best form, the Adelaide defender has spoken about the sit-down with Don Pyke that helped reinvent him as a person as well as a footballer.

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Adelaide defender Jake Kelly has revealed that an honest chat with coach Don Pyke at the end of last season has reignited his passion for football and propelled him into career-best form.

“I sat down with (Pyke) and said I need to work out what I want to do with my life,” the 24-year-old said.

“For me, football’s not a small part of my life, but it’s just a part of my life. It’s not the main thing.

“I think if you get too caught up in it, it’s quite dangerous … (I needed) to develop other things to help me enjoy football more.”

Jake Kelly talks with medical staff on the boundary after getting a corkie in his left calf during the Crows win over Richmond. Picture SARAH REED

Among those off-field reinventions has been relocating from Grange to Unley and moving in with teammate Reilly O’Brien — another Crow enjoying a standout season — and doing work experience with a commercial real estate firm.

“I moved into Unley from Grange, so that got me further away from the club (headquarters), a few nice cafes and restaurants over there, a bit more like Melbourne almost, it just reminded me of home a bit more,” he said.

He apologised for using the well-worn cliche “one week at time”, but he said it aptly applied to how he now sees his football.

“(I’m) not looking at what I’ve done in the past and what can happen in the future, just trying to stay present in taking each game as a separate event and I’ve found that’s really helped me.”

Another change has been that Kelly no longer watches footy games.

“A few years ago, I would have knuckled down and watched all eight games,” he said. “That’s something I’ve changed over the journey.

“It’s just something that when I sit down and watch a game of footy now, I’m not in love with it … it’s a tad stressful almost because you’re watching what they’re doing and analysing it a bit more than you used to as a kid.

“When you’re playing the game, you’re in the moment, I love playing, it’s fantastic, but watching it is a different story for me.”

So it goes without saying that Kelly did not watch Saturday night’s game when Port Adelaide offered a blueprint to the competition of how to beat league-leaders Geelong, but he’ll certainly be doing his homework before the Crows take on the Cats at Kardinia Park on Friday night.

Crows defender Jake Kelly takes on Richmond’s Dustin Martin during Adelaide’s 33-point win over the Tigers at Adelaide Oval. Picture: AAP Image/Sam Wundke

“I’ll do my research during the week, don’t worry,” he said.

“Speaking to a few coaches who were watching the game … the pressure was pretty intense by Port Adelaide.

“Each team’s the same: if you can pressure them and beat them at the contest, that gives you a pretty good chance to win a game regardless of who the team is.”

Kelly’s fitness has benefited from the bye week and the 190cm defender has overcome his corked left calf, which sidelined him in the last quarter of the Crows’ 33-point win over Richmond.

Daniel Talia who suffered a corked thigh in the same game has also been cleared to play and both key backmen will fly out with the Crows squad on Thursday.

Likely travelling with them will be Elliot Himmelberg as the replacement for injured Josh Jenkins, with Kelly speculating the club would be unlikely to play two ruckmen in O’Brien and Sam Jacobs.

Crow Jake Kelly has reinvented himself off the field and is enjoying his career-best form as a result. Kennedy. Picture SARAH REED

“We’ve obviously erred on the side of playing one ruckman, so history will suggest (the selection committee is) not going to do that, but it is an option and you see some teams do it successfully,” he said.

The Crows will be looking to break a 16-year hoodoo in Geelong: they haven’t won at the venue since round 10, 2003.

“Potentially, you get into a trap of thinking, ‘Oh, it’s Geelong in Geelong’ … but we’re far from that mindset, we’re going down there to win,” Kelly said.

And in an effort to do that, the team was put through match simulation training on Saturday using the same dimensions as slimmer Kardinia Park.

Meanwhile, as Kelly’s off-field reinvention continues, his manager has begun talks with Adelaide about renewing his contract, but he said it would be months before any decision was made.