Adelaide forward Ben Keays expected to re-sign
Adelaide forward Ben Keays — who is out of contract at season’s end — has opened up on his future in South Australia. Plus, the latest on whether 2024 will be Taylor Walker’s last season.
Adelaide workhorse Ben Keays is expected to re-sign in coming weeks.
Keays wants to remain at the Crows beyond this last year of his deal and is likely to ink an extension before their opening match against Gold Coast on March 16 or early in the season.
The 26-year-old placed ninth in Adelaide’s club champion award in 2023 after moving from full-time midfielder to the forward line.
Keays has been a pillar of consistency at the Crows since arriving as a rookie at the end of 2019, fresh off Brisbane axing him.
He had missed just one of Adelaide’s 84 games in that time and finished in the top five of the best-and-fairest in each of his first three seasons.
Keays has also been in the club’s leadership group for the past two years.
“I’ve absolutely loved Adelaide, I love playing here,” Keays told Fox Sports News.
“They gave me a chance when no one else did.
“I’d like to think I’ve started to repay them and hopefully I’ve got many more years of repaying them to come.”
Keays has been training as a forward throughout pre-season and is expected to remain in attack in 2024.
Like recent seasons, veteran Taylor Walker will look to treat this one as though it will be his last and should know by mid-year if he is physically and mentally ready to play on in 2025.
Walker, 33, is coming off arguably his best campaign.
The former skipper booted a career-high 76 goals from 22 games, including bags of 10 and nine against West Coast, to place second in the Coleman Medal.
Walker also became the oldest All-Australian debutant.
He has not spoken about retirement and is focused on the season ahead, as the Crows try to end their seven-year finals drought.
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