Ben Keays Explained

Ben Keays
Fullname:Ben Keays
Birth Date:23 February 1997
Birth Place:Melbourne, Victoria
Originalteam:Morningside(QAFL)/Redland (NEAFL)/Brisbane Lions Academy
Draftpick:No. 24, 2015 national draft (Academy selection)
Height:185cm
Weight:89kg
Position:Midfielder / forward
Guernsey:2
Years1:2016–2019
Games Goals1:30 (11)
Years2:2020–
Games Goals2:104 (79)
Games Goalstotal:134 (90)
Statsend:round 22, 2024
Careerhighlights:

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 and 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. 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, 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 .[29]

Statistics

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

|-| 2016 || || 1| 16 || 4 || 8 || 60 || 22 || 182 || 22 || 63 || 0.25 || 0.50 || 3.75 || 7.63 || 11.38 || 1.38 || 3.94 || 0|-| 2017 || || 1| 10 || 6 || 3 || 70 || 30 || 151 || 30 || 41 || 0.60 || 0.30 || 7.00 || 8.10 || 15.10 || 3.00 || 4.10 || 0 |-| 2018 || || 1| 2 || 1 || 1 || 11 || 5 || 29 || 5 || 8 || 0.50 || 0.50 || 5.50 || 9.00 || 14.50 || 2.50 || 4.00 || 0|-| 2019 || || 1| 2 || 0 || 2 || 15 || 7 || 27 || 7 || 6 || 0.00 || 0.50 || 7.50 || 6.00 || 13.50 || 3.50 || 3.00 || 0|-| 2020 || || 28| 16 || 3 || 5 || 147 || 118 || 265 || 47 || 53 || 0.19 || 0.31 || 9.19 || 7.28 || 16.56 || 2.94 || 3.31 || 1 |-| 2021 || || 2| 22 || 12 || 8 || 350 || 269 || 619 || 82 || 133 || 0.55 || 0.36 || 15.91 || 12.23 || 28.14 || 2.73 || 6.05 || 11|-| 2022 || || 2| 22 || 10 || 12 || 315 || 271 || 586 || 73 || 106 || 0.45 || 0.55 || 14.32 || 12.32 || 26.64 || 3.32 || 4.82 || 11|-| 2023 || || 2| 23 || 22 || 19 || 218 || 223 || 441 || 72 || 87 || 0.96 || 0.83 || 9.48 || 9.70 || 19.17 || 3.13 || 3.78 || 2|-| 2024 || || 2| 18 || 27 || 14 || 177 || 110 || 287 || 72 || 59 || 1.50 || 0.78 || 9.83 || 6.11 || 15.94 || 4.00 || 3.28 || TBC|- class=sortbottom! colspan=3 | Career! 131 !! 85 !! 72 !! 1363 !! 1224 !! 2587 !! 410 !! 556 !! 0.65 !! 0.55 !! 10.40 !! 9.34 !! 19.75 !! 3.13 !! 4.24 !! 25|}

Notes and References

  1. AFL Record. Round 9, 2022. pg 72
  2. Web site: Ben Keays has plenty of footballing history in his family as he makes his AFL debut . 4 September 2018 . 9 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180909131026/https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/brisbane/ben-keays-has-plenty-of-footballing-history-in-his-family-as-he-makes-his-afl-debut/news-story/7105d689d9cdd9395cdad0704a0f5be0 . live .
  3. https://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/southeast/ben-keays-says-a-surprising-selection-in-a-state-team-turned-him-into-an-afl-prospect/news-story/7ae441afbb6ed8e941b3b67da3f4a6f2 Ben Keays says a surprising selection in a state team turned him into an AFL prospect
  4. Web site: Tough love: The lasting legacy of Fred Keays . 4 September 2018 . 4 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180904153838/http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-04-25/tough-love-the-lasting-legacy-of-fred-keays . live .
  5. Web site: My ANZAC Story: Ben Keays . 4 September 2018 . 4 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180904153827/http://www.lions.com.au/news/2018-04-20/my-anzac-story-keays . live .
  6. Web site: 18 days until the draft: Ben Keays . 4 September 2018 . 4 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180904160945/http://www.aflq.com.au/18-days-until-the-draft-ben-keays/ . live .
  7. Web site: Proud young Lion wants the Gabba rocking again . 4 September 2018 . 4 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180904191950/http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-01-02/getting-the-gabba-rocking-a-priority-for-proud-lion-ben-keays . live .
  8. Web site: City South News. Sport. Ben has Keays to big future in AFL. Quest Newspapers. Queensland, Australia. 17 July 2014. 24 March 2015. 6 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131006114011/http://quest.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx. live.
  9. Web site: Queenslander Keays thrills in five-goal win over Tassie . 21 June 2014 . 4 July 2015 . 4 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150704223643/http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-06-21/keays-shines-for-queensland . live .
  10. News: Academy teens get a taste of life in the AFL. Quayle. Emma. The Age. 24 January 2015. 4 July 2015. 17 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150717031058/http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/academy-teens-get-a-taste-of-life-in-the-afl-20150124-12sy3q.html. live.
  11. News: AFL clubs to pay higher draft price for father-son, academy stars . Landsberger. Sam . Herald Sun . 27 January 2015.
  12. News: Exciting draft prospects Christian Petracca and Patrick McCartin among 12 Victorians to earn All-Australian honours. Herald Sun . Victoria, Australia. 4 July 2014. 24 March 2015.
  13. News: Division Two champions – Queensland vs. NSW/ACT recap. . Brisbane . 2 July 2015 . 2 July 2015 . 5 . AFL Queensland . 5 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150705081900/http://www.aflq.com.au/live-1100am-queensland-vs-nswact/ . live .
  14. News: 2015 Under 18 All Australians. . Melbourne . 4 July 2015 . 4 July 2015 . 5 . Fox Sports . 4 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150704223054/http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-07-04/vic-country-dominates-u18-all-australian-team . live .
  15. News: Ben Keays wins Hunter-Harrison medal . Melbourne . 2 July 2015 . 2 July 2015 . 5 . Fox Sports.
  16. News: Queensland U18s win title against wayward NSW/ACT. . Melbourne . 2 July 2015 . 2 July 2015 . 5 . Australian Football League . 4 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150704223517/http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-07-02/queensland-u18s-win-title-against-wayward-nswact . live .
  17. News: Profile: Ben Keays. 24 November 2015. lions.com.au. Bigpond. 25 November 2015. 25 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151125181858/http://www.lions.com.au/news/2015-11-24/profile-ben-keays. live.
  18. News: The Day Ben Keays Had Waited For. 26 November 2015. lions.com.au. Bigpond. 7 December 2015. 8 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151208115008/http://www.lions.com.au/news/2015-11-26/keays-at-childhood-club. live.
  19. Web site: Ben Keays is set to make his AFL debut for Brisbane Lions against Sydney Swans . 4 September 2018 . 13 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160613140428/http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/teams/brisbane/ben-keays-is-set-to-make-his-afl-debut-for-brisbane-lions-against-sydney-swans/news-story/94805237fd307f07be20397b1c28e2c0 . live .
  20. News: Around the state leagues: Who's staking a finals claim?. 10 September 2017. afl.com.au. Bigpond. 12 September 2017. 12 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170912191553/http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-09-10/around-the-state-leagues-whos-staking-a-finals-claim. live.
  21. Web site: Lions make further list changes . 19 October 2019 . 19 October 2019 . 19 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191019062259/https://www.lions.com.au/news/2019-10-19/lions-delist-three . live .
  22. Web site: Transformed Crow edges ex-Lion to win second Malcolm Blight Medal . 28 August 2021 . 14 January 2022 . 15 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220115062647/https://www.afl.com.au/news/671868/transformed-crow-edges-ex-lion-to-win-second-malcolm-blight-medal . live .
  23. Web site: Brownlow Medal results - Every AFL club, every player, every vote . 19 September 2021 . 1 February 2022 . 1 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220201231924/https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/32212077/2021-brownlow-medal-results-every-afl-club-every-player-every-vote . live .
  24. Web site: Keays extends at West Lakes . 28 October 2021 . 14 January 2022 . 14 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220114130536/https://www.afc.com.au/news/1027786/keays-extends-at-west-lakes . live .
  25. News: Gillon McLachlan blames 'human error' in controversial Crows behind call, admitting Ben Keays shot should have been a goal. ABC Australia. 2023-08-20. 19 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230819231436/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-20/ben-keays-behind-will-stand-despite-being-a-goal/102752308. live.
  26. Web site: Why goal umpires have been frustrated – and the AFL is going public about it. The Age. theage.com.au. Peter. Ryan. 9 April 2024. 15 July 2024.
  27. Web site: Ben Keays’ journey from a Lion to Crows Vice Captain. Daniela. Harvey. afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. 16 April 2024.
  28. Web site: Adelaide Crows on X: "A testament to you, Keaysy". x.com. Adelaide Football Club. 12 July 2024. 15 July 2024.
  29. Web site: Clutch Rachele's last-gasp goal sees Crows bring down Bombers. Gemma. Bastiani. Docklands Stadium. 19 July 2024. afl.com.au. Australian Football League.
  30. Web site: Ben Keays. AFL Tables. 12 July 2024. 6 December 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231206020744/https://www.afltables.com/afl/stats/players/B/Ben_Keays.html. live.

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