Ben Keays

Ben Keays
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
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2016–2019	Brisbane Lions	30 (11)
2020–	Adelaide	105 (80)
Total		135 (91)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Malcolm Blight Medal: 2024
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).

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] Following the 2022 season, Keays was awarded with the Dr Brian Sando, OAM Award, given to the Adelaide Crow most professional and prepared throughout the season. ^[25]

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. ^[26] 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. ^[27]

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. ^[28] 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. ^[29] 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. ^[30] His efforts throughout the 2024 season were rewarded with him winning the Malcolm Blight Medal, the award for the player deemed best and fairest of the Adelaide Football Club. He shared the award with club captain Jordan Dawson, with both players polling 107 votes. Keays also won the Members' MVP Award and the Dr Brian Sando, OAM Trophy. ^[31]

Statistics

Updated to the end of 2024. ^[32]

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
2016	Brisbane Lions	1	16	4	8	60	22	182	22	63	0.3	0.5	3.8	7.6	11.4	1.4	3.9	0
2017	Brisbane Lions	1	10	6	3	70	30	151	30	41	0.6	0.3	7.0	8.1	15.1	3.0	4.1	0
2018	Brisbane Lions	1	2	1	1	11	5	29	5	8	0.5	0.5	5.5	9.0	14.5	2.5	4.0	0
2019	Brisbane Lions	1	2	0	2	15	7	27	7	6	0.0	0.5	7.5	6.0	13.5	3.5	3.0	0
2020 [lower-alpha 1]	Adelaide	28	16	3	5	147	118	265	47	53	0.2	0.3	9.2	7.3	16.6	2.9	3.3	1
2021	Adelaide	2	22	12	8	350	269	619	82	133	0.6	0.4	15.9	12.2	28.1	2.7	6.1	11
2022	Adelaide	2	22	10	12	315	271	586	73	106	0.5	0.6	14.3	12.3	26.6	3.3	4.8	11
2023	Adelaide	2	23	22	19	218	223	441	72	87	1.0	0.8	9.5	9.7	19.2	3.1	3.8	2
2024	Adelaide	2	23	34	20	225	148	373	88	83	1.5	0.9	9.8	6.4	16.2	3.8	3.6	4
Career			136	92	78	1411	1262	2673	426	580	0.7	0.6	10.4	9.3	19.7	3.1	4.3	29

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.

References

1. 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. "Dr Brian Sando, OAM Award". crowshistory.afc.com.au. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
26. "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.
27. 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.
28. Harvey, Daniela (16 April 2024). "Ben Keays' journey from a Lion to Crows Vice Captain". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club.
29. "Adelaide Crows on X: "A testament to you, Keaysy"". x.com . Adelaide Football Club. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
30. Bastiani, Gemma (19 July 2024). "Clutch Rachele's last-gasp goal sees Crows bring down Bombers". afl.com.au. Docklands Stadium: Australian Football League.
31. Harvey, Daniela (5 October 2024). "All the award winners from the 2024 Crows Club Champion". afc.com.au.
32. "Ben Keays". AFL Tables. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2024.

External links

• Ben Keays's profile on the official website of the Brisbane Lions
• Ben Keays's playing statistics from AFL Tables