Tim Kelly (footballer)

Timothy Kelly (born 26 July 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He formerly played for the Geelong Football Club between 2018 and 2019.

Tim Kelly
Kelly playing for Geelong in August 2018
Personal information
Full name	Timothy Kelly
Date of birth	(1994-07-26) 26 July 1994 (age 30)
Original team(s)	South Fremantle (WAFL)
Draft	No. 24, 2017 national draft
Debut	Round 1, 2018, Geelong vs. Melbourne, at MCG
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	81 kg (179 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	West Coast
Number	11
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2018–2019	Geelong	048 (48)
2020–	West Coast	102 (31)
Total		150 (79)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2025	Indigenous All-Stars	1 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Round 8, 2025.
Career highlights
All-Australian team: 2019 AFLCA best young player award: 2019 AFLPA Best First Year Player: 2018 Glendinning–Allan Medal: 2021 (round 7) John Worsfold Medal: 2023
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life and WAFL career

Kelly is from Perth and played his junior football for Palmyra. He has an Indigenous Australian father and a Chilean mother.^[1] He made his senior WAFL debut for the South Fremantle Football Club in 2013. He was runner-up in the club's best and fairest in 2014.^[2] During the 2017 WAFL season he finished runner-up in the Sandover Medal to Haiden Schloithe.^[3] Before being drafted into the AFL, Kelly was an apprentice electrician. His partner/fiancée is Caitlin Miller and they have three sons.^[4]

AFL career

Geelong (2018-2019)

Kelly was drafted by Geelong with their second selection and twenty-fourth overall in the 2017 national draft as an over-age draftee^[5] He made his debut in the three-point win against Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the opening round of the 2018 season.^[6] At the 2018 AFL Players' Association Awards he was voted Best First Year Player by fellow players.^[7] At the end of the 2018 season, Kelly requested a trade to the West Coast Eagles, a club that had previously overlooked him in numerous drafts, solely due to family reasons. But after long discussions, Geelong refused to trade him as they could not come to a suitable arrangement with the Eagles and he still had a year to go on his contract.^[8] After a stellar 2019 which included his first All-Australian selection, a preliminary final appearance and a top 5 finish in the Brownlow Medal, Kelly's contract at Geelong was now fulfilled and he once again requested a trade to the Eagles due to the same reason as the year prior. He was finally traded on 9 October.^{[citation needed]}

West Coast Eagles (2020-)

Kelly's wish was finally granted after being traded the Eagles, who had traded Picks 14, 24, 37 and future first round pick to get Kelly. He signed a 6-year contract estimated worth $5 million.

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of round 4, 2023^[9]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)							Votes
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2018	Geelong	11	23	24	16	277	249	526	77	81	1.0	0.7	12.0	10.8	22.9	3.3	3.5	13
2019	Geelong	11	25	24	18	381	254	635	89	106	1.0	0.7	15.2	10.2	25.4	3.6	4.2	24
2020[a]	West Coast	11	18	5	6	208	153	361	46	75	0.3	0.2	11.6	8.5	20.1	2.6	4.2	11
2021	West Coast	11	19	6	8	245	209	454	62	64	0.3	0.4	12.9	11.0	23.9	3.3	3.4	10
2022	West Coast	11	17	6	5	211	201	412	60	67	0.4	0.3	12.4	11.8	24.2	3.5	3.9	3
2023	West Coast	11	4	4	2	60	63	123	21	12	1.0	0.5	15.0	15.8	30.8	5.3	3.0
Career			106	69	53	1382	1129	2511	355	405	0.7	0.5	13.0	10.7	23.7	3.4	3.8	61

Notes

1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.