Josh Kelly doesn’t need AFL grand finals or premiership trophies to convince himself committing to GWS was the right call.
Kelly essentially made himself a Giants player for life earlier this year, rebuffing several desperate Melbourne clubs to sign a two-year contract extension – with an eight-year option to follow.
It’s the second time the 24-year-old has chosen GWS over a return to his native Victoria, having knocked back a lucrative seven-year offer from North Melbourne in 2017.
Some would view the Giants reaching Saturday’s grand final against Richmond as a justification for Kelly’s faith but the midfielder says his decision was about more than on-field glory.
“I’ve been asked this question a bit. It’s interesting. I feel like I don’t need the success to justify it,” Kelly told AAP.
“Obviously it’s a nice bonus and that’s what we play football for but the reason I stayed at this club was because of what I knew we had as our culture, the people involved from the admin to the coaches to the players.
“It is a pretty special club in that sense.
“We’ve had blokes that are still here that have been here since day one of the club and they’ve created this club and built it from the ground up.
“It’s unique and in its essence that’s why I stayed.”
Kelly is not the only Giants ace to knock back Melbourne clubs to stay in Sydney’s west, with Stephen Coniglio signing a seven-year deal in August.
While the Giants’ leading names are loving life at the club, there remain those who view them as an AFL construction lacking in history and undermining the game’s traditions.
Kelly has heard those critics and is frankly flummoxed by those views.
“I don’t understand the comments because what we have is, I think people are starting to see, we’re just a proud football club with blokes who genuinely care about each other and that’s players, that’s coaches, that’s everyone,” he said.
“It’s not something I look out for but hopefully we can go out there and prove that we are. I reckon we already have proven it but prove that we can match it.
“I’ve always said I felt like success was around the corner for us.
“We’re not there yet but we’ve got the opportunity to go out there and win what we train all year for and that’s a grand final.”