NFL 2019: Captain Patrick Flynn tips Lower Plenty midfielder Tom Keys to make impression in Division 1

LOWER Plenty captain Patrick Flynn has predicted teammate Tom Keys will emerge as one of the premier players in the Northern Football League this year.

Tom Keys fires off a handball against Epping last season.

LOWER Plenty captain Patrick Flynn has predicted teammate Tom Keys will emerge as one of the premier players in the Northern Football League this year.

Keys finished second in the Division 2 best and fairest count behind Flynn last season and was a standout during the Bears’ finals campaign.

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Flynn said the big-bodied midfielder would be primed to stamp himself as one of the Northern Football League’s best on-ballers in 2019.

“You look at someone like Tom Keys who, to be honest, is probably the most talented player I have ever played with,” Flynn said.

“(He) probably still has another gear to go to. There’s no reason why he can’t develop into the best footballer in Division 1.

“He was already the best footballer in Division 2 last year. He needs to stamp his authority on the competition and show how good of a player he is in Division 1.

“He was certainly showing glimpses of it two years ago but he just takes a step forward every year again.”

Tom Keys brushes off a tackle from North Heidelberg’s Shane Harvey. Picture: Mark Wilson

Keys was named in the best players 11 times in 18 games when Lower Plenty last competed in Division 1 in 2016, booting 22 goals.

He has averaged more than one goal per game in the past three seasons, logging 83 majors in 58 matches.

His red-hot form in the second half of the campaign attracted a tag from ex-Collingwood midfielder Brent Macaffer when the Bears and Eltham clashed during Division 2 finals.

Keys headlines a group of young players who gained Division 1 experience three years ago who Flynn believes will be ready for the jump in class after the club’s premiership success.

“I look back at when we were in Division 1, I think it was 2016, we probably were a bit of a step behind,” he said.

“The similarities between our team and that team are still pretty obvious. There’s a lot of the same players there.
“Having said that … they were 18 and 19 then. They are another two years older, again. I think that is going to be a big step up for them.”

Lower Plenty defeated Eltham in a dramatic grand final last year to secure its return to Division 1 and will open its campaign against Montmorency on April 6.

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