West Coast Eagles midfielder Tim Kelly delivers worrying admission
A West Coast Eagles star has made an eye-brow raising admission as the 2025 season draws closer to getting underway.
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West Coast star Tim Kelly concedes he has fallen out of love with footy in recent years, as he heads into 2025 without a contract for next year, and without negotiations for a new deal having begun.
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Multiple outlets reported Kelly was a chance to move in last year’s trade period, or even beyond it, with Fremantle linked to the 30-year-old midfielder.
Kelly began his AFL career as a mature-aged recruit at Geelong, immediately starring and making the All-Australian team in 2019, before being traded home to WA for family reasons.
But the trade hasn’t worked too well for either Kelly or the Eagles, who have been stuck down the bottom of the ladder basically ever since, though he won the club best and fairest in 2023 and has been reasonably consistent.
The West reported recently Kelly and the Eagles were yet to begin talks on a new contract for 2026 and beyond.
Asked about his future ahead of the Indigenous All-Stars game, Kelly said: “It is probably something that’ll work itself out, my manager (Anthony Van Der Wielen) works pretty hard in that space.
“To be honest, for me it’s about honing in on what I’ve got to do, get my body right … my love of the game hasn’t been great over the last couple of years.
“There’s a lot of contract talk and this and that but I’m just trying to love the game again. And hopefully that comes.”
With just 10 wins over the last few seasons it has been difficult for Kelly to find joy in the game.
“It’s been a tough few years and I’m not the only one. Everyone here has been working really hard and not getting much reward,” Kelly said.
“It’s been frustrating to say the least but it’s got to turn around eventually so we’ll see how we go.
“Again, I’m not even really thinking about it (my contract).
“You probably think you probably are but I’m actually not. I’m just trying to get my body right and get back to having fun.”
Asked about retirement, Kelly did not give an entirely committed answer either way.
“I don’t think I am necessarily thinking like that,” he said.
“But again, we’ll see how it all plays out.”
However he was full of praise for new Eagles coach Andrew McQualter.
“Mini has been great, him and the coaching staff are doing a hell of the job with the program at the moment,” Kelly said.
“Everything is kind of new. It’s the same game but the new language, different gameplan and all of that. I’m just enjoying the process at the moment.
“As a group we’re getting the point where we’re sick of playing against each other and that, so the next step is obviously to do it against real opposition.”
Originally published as West Coast Eagles midfielder Tim Kelly delivers worrying admission
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