Hard-nosed defender Jake Kelly changes positions and takes flight with the Crows

HE’S the Crows hard nut who has transformed from shutdown backman to flying wingman - and Jake Kelly is loving his new-found freedom.

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JAKE Kelly has been set free.

And as much as Adelaide’s self-confessed backline hard nut is enjoying the chance to roam the wings and win more of the ball he said he had struggled to snap out of his longstanding defensive mindset.

“It’s an interesting one,’’ Kelly said of his role change.

“I love being given the chance to develop my game but in my first few games on the wing it felt quite weird, having that ability to be able to leave my opponent and run off and think that was actually OK.

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“It’s been a slow transition learning to run off and go forward instead of holding out with my man.

Jake Kelly of the Crows looks to kick during the Round 18 match against Brisbane. Picture: AAP Image/Jono Searle

“But I’ve slowly got used to it, particularly in the past two games, and I’m beginning to learn how to play the position and I’m enjoying it.’’

Having cut his teeth as a physical, shutdown defender, Kelly – the oldest son of 1990 Collingwood premiership defender Craig Kelly – was first trialled as a wingman against West Coast in round 15 as the Crows, who had lost four consecutive matches, tried to add more run to an ailing side.

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With regular left-footed wingman Roy Atkins in a form slump and dumped to the SANFL, Kelly was part of a three-man wing rotation with long-kicking metre-eater Paul Seedsman and classy ball distributor Wayne Milera.

The trio was instructed to rotate between the two wings and a half-back flank.

“The coaches wanted to have a bit more flexibility with who we rolled through there,’’ 23-year-old Kelly told The Advertiser as the Crows prepared for their moment-of-truth clash with Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

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“I was one of them and it was something that I embraced. The difficulty for me was that by nature I’ve got quite a defensive mindset with how I play my football, let alone having played in defence for eight years.

“Doing that you develop quite a strict defensive mindset, so you’ve got to get out of that. But I’ve adjusted to it now. I'm usually quite harsh on myself so the key for me was to take the mentality of using it as a learning experience and a challenge.

“I think if you are too hard on yourself it can make it more difficult but if you use it as a learning experience you get a lot more out of it, so that’s what I’ve tried to do.

“I feel I’ve slowly built into the position in the past four games and I think the past two especially have been solid compared to the first two.

“It’s a learning experience, a challenge and you are going to have ups and downs with that challenge. But I’m up for it.’’

The move has coincided with last year’s grand finalist – on the road to nowhere a month ago – winning three of its past four games to storm back into finals contention.

Kelly averaged just 12 disposals and three marks in his first two games floating between wing and half-back but has averaged 19 and six in the past two, illustrating how he is growing into the role.

Atkins has joined the rotation after returning to the side two weeks ago.

“From a club point of view it’s all about keeping people fresh and getting more legs through the wings,’’ Kelly said.

“Obviously match-ups down back and running loads come into the equation too but the mixing and matching appears to have worked so far.’’

Former rookie-list player Kelly – overlooked at the national draft when he was eligible in 2013 before being taken at pick 40 at the rookie draft from TAC Cup side Oakleigh Chargers – appears to have finally established himself in the Adelaide side.

After debuting against the Demons in round three, 2015, he didn't play an AFL match in 2016

Jake Kelly, Daniel Talia and Josh Jenkins after the 2017 grand final loss. Picture: Sarah Reed

but has played 40 of the Crows’ past 42 games. He missed the round six clash against Gold Coast this season with a broken hand and played his 50th game against Brisbane at the Gabba last week.

Kelly said one of the reasons for his improvement was having a more relaxed mindset.

“I felt I was behind the eight-ball in my junior days and that I had to try harder to improve than some other people,’’ he said.

“Slowly I've learnt not to be so hard on myself which has allowed me to enjoy my footy more but in those junior days I had to be very strict on myself.

“I'm not the most skilful player genetically and have had to work extra hard to get up to AFL level.

“In the back of my mind I’ve come from nothing and enjoy having that underdog status of not being a high draft pick – I wear it as a badge of honour – knowing that I’ve had to work so hard for everything I’ve got.’’

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