By Justin Chadwick
West Coast star Tim Kelly has opened up on his refreshing move to attack, saying he started to feel pigeonholed as a midfielder and is relishing the positional change.
Kelly’s drop in form earlier this season resulted in him being axed to the WAFL for a week – an unthinkable proposition for a player who was crowned West Coast’s best and fairest winner in 2023.
Tim Kelly of the Eagles warms up during the round eight AFL match between West Coast Eagles and Melbourne Demons.Credit: Getty Images
The 30-year-old’s form struggles came just months after he candidly revealed he has been working hard to rediscover his love of the game following a period in which the Eagles won just 10 games across three years.
New West Coast coach Andrew McQualter made the bold decision to switch Kelly into attack last month, and the move is working wonders.
Although Kelly is no longer racking up big possession numbers, his score involvements have increased, helping give the Eagles more potency in attack.
Kelly was a goalscoring weapon during his two years at Geelong, kicking 24 majors each season playing a mid-forward role.
He has kicked just 32.38 across five-and-a-half seasons at West Coast, but after registering his first goal of the season in last week’s brave loss to Geelong, it’s hoped Kelly will have an important scoreboard impact in the coming weeks and months.
“It’s taken a little bit of time to get used to. It’s something I’m enjoying,” Kelly said of his new role in attack.
“It’s like a little refresher for me.
“I’ve been pigeonholed in the middle for a long period of time.
“I’ve obviously proven that I can play reasonably well in there throughout my career, but it’s probably just time to play a slightly different role.
“We’ve got some young boys coming through who could play in there (the midfield), and given where we’re at as a club, it’s important that we explore that, and explore opportunities of me playing forward and stints inside.
“I’m enjoying it.”
Kelly, who recently signed a two-year contract extension, looms as a key player in Sunday’s bottom-of-the-table clash with North Melbourne in Bunbury, a coastal city about 175km south of Perth.
Technically, the match is a Kangaroos home game after they signed a lucrative three-year deal to play two home games a year in WA across the next three seasons.
It’s believed North will net more than $1 million from each game.
After facing West Coast, the Roos ‘host’ Fremantle at Optus Stadium next week.
Sunday’s match will pit premiership Eagle and now North Melbourne forward Jack Darling against his former side.
Darling faced West Coast in Bunbury during the pre-season, but he will be fighting for premiership points this time around.
West Coast have welcomed back premiership forward Jamie Cripps (knee), while North named Griffin Logue and Robert Hansen Jnr.
AAP
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