Ben Keays

Last updated

Ben Keays
Ben Keays 2018.2.jpg
Keays in April 2018
Personal information
Full name Ben Keays
Date of birth (1997-02-23) 23 February 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s) Morningside(QAFL)/Redland (NEAFL)/Brisbane Lions Academy
Draft No. 24, 2015 national draft (Academy selection)
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 89 kg (196 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder / forward
Club information
Current club Adelaide
Number 2
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2016–2019 Brisbane Lions 30 (11)
2020– Adelaide 104 (79)
Total134 (90)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 22, 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Ben Keays (born 23 February 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). His great-grandfather Fred Keays represented both Fitzroy and Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Contents

Early life

Born in Melbourne, Keays participated in the Auskick program at Hampton, Victoria. [1] Keays moved to Brisbane at five years of age [2] and continued playing Auskick at the Morningside Australian Football Club. [1] He attended St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace throughout his schooling years. [3] His great grandfather, Fred, played football for Fitzroy and Collingwood between 1919 and 1922 and served in both World War I and II. [4] His great uncle, Desmond, also played football for Fitzroy [5] while his uncle, Terry, played for Collingwood and Richmond. Ben began playing junior football for the Morningside Panthers [6] and was placed in the Brisbane Lions Academy at the age of 14. [7] He was selected to represent Queensland in the 2014 and 2015 AFL Under 18 Championships, [8] [9] [10] and was selected in the 2014 and 2015 All-Australian teams. [11] [12] He also captained Queensland to their first division 2 title in nine years at the 2015 AFL Under 18 Championships [13] and won the 2015 Hunter Harrison Medal for his performances across the three games. [14] [15] [16]

Keays was recruited by the Brisbane Lions with their third selection and 24th overall in the 2015 national draft. [17] He was the second academy selection for Brisbane after they matched a bid by the Western Bulldogs. [18]

AFL career

Brisbane Lions

Keays made his AFL debut for Brisbane in Round 6, 2016, against the Sydney Swans. [19] He won the Andrew Ireland Medal as best afield in the 2017 NEAFL Grand final, amassing 30 disposals, 9 tackles and 2 goals. [20] He was delisted at the conclusion of the 2019 AFL season. Keays was later picked up by the Adelaide Crows at pick 7 in the 2019 rookie draft. [21]

Adelaide Crows

Keays enjoyed a breakout 2020 AFL season, playing 16 games for the Crows. He finished 5th in the Malcolm Blight Medal and won the Players' Trademark award.

He received competition-wide recognition with an impressive 2021 AFL season which was rewarded with a 2nd-place finish in the Malcolm Blight Medal. [22] Keays shocked the AFL with an elite disposal average of 28.1 throughout the home-and-away season as well as polling 11 votes in the 2021 Brownlow Medal. [23] In October 2021, he signed a contract which would keep him at the Crows until the end of 2024. [24]

In an August 2023 match against Sydney, Keays had a shot for goal late in the game that was controversially adjudged to hit the post, but video evidence, which was only reviewed after the decision was made, deemed this incorrect. The goal would have given the Crows the lead with just a minute left, but the Swans were able to run down the clock and win by a point. This result eliminated Adelaide from finals calculations with one round of the regular season remaining. [25] Keays' kick has become a benchmark for what the AFL is attempting to avoid, with an increasing number of scores being reviewed throughout every game. [26]

Keays became one of three vice-captains of the Adelaide Crows prior to the 2024 season, joining Brodie Smith and Reilly O'Brien. Just months later, he extended his contract with the club until the end of 2027. [27] In July 2024, Keays broke Adelaide's club record for the most consecutive games played with 100 games, overtaking the record 99 games previously held by Scott Thompson. Keays has not missed a game since his club debut in 2020. [28] Just two weeks after a career-best four goals against his former side Brisbane, Keays bested himself by kicking five goals from 22 disposals in what was a clear best-on-ground performance in a two-point victory against Essendon. [29]

Statistics

Updated to the end of round 19, 2024. [30]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals  
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds  
  H  
 Handballs  
  M  
 Marks
SeasonTeamNo.GamesTotalsAverages (per game) Votes
GBKHDMTGBKHDMT
2016 Brisbane Lions 11648602218222630.250.503.757.6311.381.383.940
2017 Brisbane Lions 11063703015130410.600.307.008.1015.103.004.100
2018 Brisbane Lions 121111529580.500.505.509.0014.502.504.000
2019 Brisbane Lions 120215727760.000.507.506.0013.503.503.000
2020 [lower-alpha 1] Adelaide 28163514711826547530.190.319.197.2816.562.943.311
2021 Adelaide 222128350269619821330.550.3615.9112.2328.142.736.0511
2022 Adelaide 2221012315271586731060.450.5514.3212.3226.643.324.8211
2023 Adelaide 223221921822344172870.960.839.489.7019.173.133.782
2024 Adelaide 218271417711028772591.500.789.836.1115.944.003.28TBC
Career13185721363122425874105560.650.5510.409.3419.753.134.2425

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.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brisbane Lions</span> Australian rules football club

The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide Football Club</span> Australian rules football club

The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 1991, and a women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition since 2017. The club's offices and training facilities are located in the western Adelaide suburb of West Lakes, at the site of the club's former home ground Football Park. Since 2014 Adelaide have played home matches at the Adelaide Oval, a 53,500-seat stadium located on the northern bank on the River Torrens in North Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Patfull</span> Australian rules footballer

Joel Patfull is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was also listed with the Port Adelaide Football Club from 2003 to 2004, but he did not play a senior match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Hudson</span> Australian rules footballer

Ben Hudson is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club, Western Bulldogs, Brisbane Lions and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as the defensive skills, ruck and forwards coach at the Brisbane Lions since September 2014. He was also the ruck coach for Collingwood after being selected as a mature age rookie player in the 2012 rookie draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Walker (footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer

Taylor Walker is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a former NSW Scholarship player with the club, and was drafted with pick 75 in the 2007 national draft. Walker previously captained Adelaide from 2015 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lachie Neale</span> Australian rules footballer

Lachlan Oliver Neale is an Australian rules footballer and the co-captain of the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Fremantle Football Club from 2012 to 2018 before being traded to the Brisbane Lions in 2019, where he won the Brownlow Medal in both 2020 and 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarryd Lyons</span> Australian rules footballer

Jarryd Lyons is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Adelaide Football Club from 2011 to 2016 and the Gold Coast Suns from 2017 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Cameron (footballer, born 1994)</span> Australian rules footballer

Charles Mark Cameron is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Adelaide Football Club from 2014 to 2017. Cameron was taken with pick 7 in the 2013 rookie draft by Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Hogan</span> Australian rules footballer

Jesse Hogan is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). A key forward, Hogan is 1.95 metres tall and weighs 100 kilograms (220 lb). He was a standout basketballer and footballer at a young age, representing Western Australia in both sports and played in the West Australian Football League colts competition with the Claremont Football Club. He was rewarded with All-Australian selection as a junior in the 2012 AFL Under 18 Championships and in turn, he was drafted by Melbourne with the second selection in the 2012 mini-draft, meaning he was ineligible to play in the 2013 AFL season. After a back injury ruined his 2014 season, he made his AFL debut in the 2015 season and won the Ron Evans Medal as the AFL Rising Star. In his first two playing years for Melbourne, he was the leading goalkicker in both seasons. In October 2018, he was acquired by Fremantle in a trade that sent him back home to Western Australia, however, after two unsuccessful years at the Dockers, Hogan was traded to Greater Western Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Kelly (Australian footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer

Jake Kelly is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having been initially drafted to the Adelaide Football Club. Kelly was drafted with pick 40 in the 2014 Rookie Draft, and is the son of former Collingwood player Craig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Lever</span> Australian rules footballer

Jake Lever is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A defender, 1.95 metres tall and weighing 89 kilograms (196 lb), Lever plays primarily as a half-back and is known for his intercept marking and ability to read the play. Originally from Romsey, Victoria, he played top-level football at a young age when he played with the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup, and represented and captained Victoria in the AFL Under 18 Championships as a bottom-aged player. He suffered a serious knee injury which forced him to miss the entire season in his final junior year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AFL Women's</span> Female Australian rules football league

AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 14 teams in 2020 and 18 teams in 2022. The league is run by the Australian Football League (AFL) and is contested by each of the clubs from that competition. The reigning premiers are Brisbane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Hipwood</span> Australian rules footballer

Eric Hipwood is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Hammelmann</span> Australian rules footballer

Matthew Hammelmann is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the Brisbane Lions with its fourth selection and 75th overall in the 2015 AFL rookie draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Bowes</span> Australian rules footballer

Jack Bowes is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for the Gold Coast Suns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Zielke</span> Australian rules footballer

Emma Zielke is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions in the AFL Women's competition. She was the club's inaugural AFLW team captain, leading the club in 2017–2018 and 2020–2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Gallucci</span> Australian rules footballer

Jordan Gallucci is a former professional Australian rules footballer, last playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Adelaide with their first selection and fifteenth overall in the 2016 national draft. He made his debut in the 80-point win against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in round nine of the 2017 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Hatchard</span> Australian rules footballer

Anne Hatchard is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbey Holmes</span> Australian rules footballer

Abbey Holmes is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Holmes often compared to Darcy Fogarty of the Adelaide crows, began playing football for the Waratah Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League in 2012 and won four consecutive premierships with the club, along with being the league's leading goalkicker the same four seasons. In 2014, she became the first woman to kick 100 goals in a season in an established football league, and in 2016 she was drafted in the inaugural AFL Women's draft by Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevie-Lee Thompson</span> Australian rules footballer

Stevie-Lee Thompson is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition.

References

  1. 1 2 AFL Record. Round 9, 2022. pg 72
  2. ↑ "Ben Keays has plenty of footballing history in his family as he makes his AFL debut". Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Ben Keays says a surprising selection in a state team turned him into an AFL prospect
  4. ↑ "Tough love: The lasting legacy of Fred Keays". Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "My ANZAC Story: Ben Keays". Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "18 days until the draft: Ben Keays". Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Proud young Lion wants the Gabba rocking again". Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  8. ↑ Sport, City South News (17 July 2014). "Ben has Keays to big future in AFL". Quest Newspapers. Queensland, Australia. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Queenslander Keays thrills in five-goal win over Tassie". 21 June 2014. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  10. ↑ Quayle, Emma (24 January 2015). "Academy teens get a taste of life in the AFL". The Age. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Landsberger, Sam (27 January 2015). "AFL clubs to pay higher draft price for father-son, academy stars". Herald Sun.
  12. ↑ "Exciting draft prospects Christian Petracca and Patrick McCartin among 12 Victorians to earn All-Australian honours". Herald Sun. Victoria, Australia. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Division Two champions – Queensland vs. NSW/ACT recap". Brisbane: AFL Queensland. 2 July 2015. p. 5. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "2015 Under 18 All Australians". Fox Sports. Melbourne. 4 July 2015. p. 5. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "Ben Keays wins Hunter-Harrison medal". Fox Sports. Melbourne. 2 July 2015. p. 5. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  16. ↑ "Queensland U18s win title against wayward NSW/ACT". Melbourne: Australian Football League. 2 July 2015. p. 5. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Profile: Ben Keays". lions.com.au. Bigpond. 24 November 2015. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  18. ↑ "The Day Ben Keays Had Waited For". lions.com.au. Bigpond. 26 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  19. ↑ "Ben Keays is set to make his AFL debut for Brisbane Lions against Sydney Swans". Archived from the original on 13 June 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  20. ↑ "Around the state leagues: Who's staking a finals claim?". afl.com.au. Bigpond. 10 September 2017. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  21. ↑ "Lions make further list changes". 19 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  22. ↑ "Transformed Crow edges ex-Lion to win second Malcolm Blight Medal". 28 August 2021. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  23. ↑ "Brownlow Medal results - Every AFL club, every player, every vote". 19 September 2021. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  24. ↑ "Keays extends at West Lakes". 28 October 2021. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  25. ↑ "Gillon McLachlan blames 'human error' in controversial Crows behind call, admitting Ben Keays shot should have been a goal". ABC Australia. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  26. ↑ Ryan, Peter (9 April 2024). "Why goal umpires have been frustrated – and the AFL is going public about it". theage.com.au. The Age . Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  27. ↑ Harvey, Daniela (16 April 2024). "Ben Keays' journey from a Lion to Crows Vice Captain". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club.
  28. ↑ "Adelaide Crows on X: "A testament to you, Keaysy"". x.com . Adelaide Football Club. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  29. ↑ Bastiani, Gemma (19 July 2024). "Clutch Rachele's last-gasp goal sees Crows bring down Bombers". afl.com.au. Docklands Stadium: Australian Football League.
  30. ↑ "Ben Keays". AFL Tables. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.