Essendon prolonged the AFL careers of James Kelly and Matt Dea earlier this year, now they’re contemplating an extension of the lifeline.
Kelly and Dea were among the 10 top-up players recruited by the Bombers, who lost 12 of their best and most experienced stars to doping bans earlier this year.
It was meant to be a one-season arrangement.
But former Richmond defender Dea and ex-Geelong gun Kelly have impressed the Bombers with their skill, leadership and durability.
Kelly has missed only two games this season, while Dea was a last-minute withdrawl in round 13 but has otherwise played every match this year.
“James Kelly and Matty Dea have been very strong performers all year,” Bombers coach John Worsfold said, when asked if the club would consider drafting any of the top-up talent.
“Matty Dea is in a prime age bracket. There may be other clubs who have seen how well he’s performed for us this year and may be looking at him.
“But we’ll certainly look at that as an option without guaranteeing anything and Kelly is a bit the same.
“We’ve just got to wait and see what options we’ve got in terms of numbers of picks in the draft and where it all sits.
“We’ll work through that after next week.”
Worsfold was full of praise for Dea, Kelly and the other eight olds hands who joined the club on short notice.
“They’ve all been outstanding. It hasn’t gone perfectly for a lot of them,” he said.
“They’ve all had fairly significant injuries … but the way they’ve fought through that and continued to add value has been outstanding.
“I suppose it’s a credit to the younger group that are on our list that we haven’t needed to play all of them every week.”
Mathew Stokes played his 200th – and final – game on Sunday, with Worsfold proud of the fact his club helped the 31-year-old reach the milestone.
“He’s forever part of the Essendon Football Club history now, and a well-respected part,” Worsfold said.
Aransan
Guest
Essendon would like to thank all their top-up players and a nice touch as far as Kelly is concerned is to announce that Essendon would be more than happy to sign him on for another year whether he wishes to continue or not. Kelly has previously stated that any decision that he makes would have to take into account a number of factors but I don't think the lure of 300 games will be sufficient for him to want to continue. A very good player who has been invaluable to Essendon in a difficult season.
Axle an the Guru
Guest
I don't think they would be talking about Kelly unless he was interested in playing on, either way, with Fremantle and Essendon looking to be very competitive next year, it don't look promising for the Bad News Bears as far as missing next years Spoon.
Giovanni Torre
Guest
Kelly was still a solid player at Geelong but with his declining pace was crowded out by a pack of younger players. Glad to see him do really well this season and to be honest there's nothing to indicate he wouldn't continue to be a valuable player next year. Stokes has played well when he got out on the paddock and good on him for making it to 200 games. I suspect Kelly might want to call it a day after this year because this season he reinforced his reputation as a quality player and can go out more or less at the top of his game.
Aransan
Guest
Dea and Kelly would need to nominate for the draft, and in Kelly's case there is no certainty he will do that. Any club then has the opportunity to draft them. Both players would be certain to be drafted by Essendon if available and another club may draft Dea before Essendon get the chance. I doubt if Kelly will continue but he would be a good pick up for one season at Essendon.