Paul Chapman opens up on his premiership teammate and milestone man, James Kelly

PEOPLE ask me what I made of James Kelly when I first laid eyes on him at Geelong? Try Napoleon Dynamite with size 13 feet, writes Paul Chapman.

James Kelly and Paul Chapman at Geelong training.

PEOPLE ask me what I made of James Kelly when I first laid eyes on him at Geelong? Try Napoleon Dynamite with size 13 feet.

Napoleon Dynamite because he’s a dead ringer for the character played by Jon Heder in the comedy of the same name.

“Kel” grabbed it with both hands and owned it, walking around the club acting out scenes word for and word, having guys in tears.

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And the size 13 feet? Well name another 183cm player in the AFL who has clodhoppers that big, and I reckon those feet might explain why he’s hopeless at any sport other than football.

That’s why one of his nicknames was All Sports. Again he took it with a smile, but then again he had to be able to take it because he dished it out as much, if not more, than the next bloke.

I remember once he had a friendly go at Jimmy Bartel, saying something like Jimmy didn’t always handle jokes too well when it was on him.

Paul Chapman, James Kelly, Joel Corey, Cameron Ling, James Podsiadly and Mitch Duncan celebrate the 2011 premiership.

A couple of days later Jimmy filled up Kel’s locker with that dry expandable foam that builders use. When Kel opened it he just started laughing, even though he had a nice watch and a few other possessions in there.

He was the type of bloke you need around an environment that at times could be too serious, just to break things down and remind us there’s more to life than football and to enjoy the time you have in it.

When it was time to have a drink and to wind down, the class clown knew when to and how to party, generally stealing the show.

Kel as a footballer was such a hard worker, turning into a surprisingly strong player after coming to the club looking like a scrawny little weed. I still can picture the first photo taken of him in his first few days at the club with nothing but his jocks on.

The same scrawny little weed who became one of the best tacklers in the competition, and still is. He tackled like a rugby player, taking on big blokes who thought they could steamroll him.

If he got his hands on you in a tackle, you were done. I don’t know where the strength came from, although I guess from the hard work which he has always been prepared to do.

Geelong’s booty from the 2001 draft, clockwise from top left, Charlie Gardiner, Gary Ablett Jr, Steve Johnson, James Bartel (Jimmy Bartel), David Johnson and James Kelly.

At many clubs Kel would have been an automatic selection in the midfield, but out of necessity he went back for us in 2009 when Josh Hunt injured his knee.

He was ready to buy in and sacrifice his game, becoming a key part of our backline including that 2009 Grand Final when he did a very good job on Stephen Milne.

Looking back now I think if he had stayed in the midfield at Geelong then he may not still be playing. Moving back added another string to his bow and has definitely kept him in the game for longer.

It would have been easy for him to say he had the game to remain in the midfield, but he just got on with it and in 2011 won a very deserving All-Australian selection.

Geelong’s Victoria contingent (from left) Matthew Scarlett, James Kelly, Joel Selwood, Steve Johnson, Darren Milburn, Paul Chapman, and Jimmy Bartel.

His mates at Geelong were blokes like Shannon Byrnes and Stevie Johnson, although he basically got on well with everyone. The opposition respected him, and they needed too.

To play with James and to be so very successful with him was a great honour but to see a young man turn himself into a warrior of the Geelong Football Club and now Essendon Football Club is a real pleasure.

I’m really happy he has reached 300 games and while I knew he had more footy in him after Geelong chopped him at the end of 2015, I admit to being slightly surprised at just how well he has played. The Essendon blokes think he’s a star.