Brian Kelly (rugby league)

Brian Kelly (born 20 May 1996) is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre and on the wing for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL.

Brian Kelly
Personal information
Born (1996-05-20) 20 May 1996
Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
Height181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight94 kg (14 st 11 lb)
Playing information
PositionCentre, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017–18 Manly Sea Eagles 47 15 0 0 60
2019– Gold Coast Titans 39 14 0 0 56
Total 86 29 0 0 116
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017 Country NSW 1 0 0 0 0
2018 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
As of 18 November 2020
Source: [1]

He played for the Manly Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League. Kelly played for Country NSW and the Prime Minister's XIII.

Background

Kelly was born in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Indigenous Australian descent from Bundjalung people.[2]

He played his junior rugby league for the Ballina Seagulls and Lennox Head Dolphins. He was then signed by the Gold Coast Titans.

Kelly is a cousin of Hull F.C. player Albert Kelly and Brisbane Broncos player James Roberts.[3]

Playing career

Early career

From 2014 to 2016, Kelly played for the Gold Coast Titans' NYC team.[4] In July 2015, he played for the New South Wales under-20s team against the Queensland under-20s team.[5] In September 2015, he re-signed with the Titans on a 2-year contract until the end of 2017.[6] In May 2016, he played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis.[7] In November 2016, he signed a 3-year contract with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles starting in 2017, after gaining a release from the final year of his Titans contract.[8]

2017

In round 1 of the 2017 NRL season, Kelly made his NRL debut for the Sea Eagles against the Parramatta Eels,[9][10] scoring a try.[11] On 7 May, Kelly played for Country in the last City vs Country origin, starting on the left wing in a 10–20 loss at Mudgee.

2018

On 8 November, Kelly was released from the final year of his contract to join the Gold Coast Titans on a two-year deal.[12]

2019

Kelly made a total of 23 appearances for the Gold Coast in the 2019 NRL season as the club endured a horror year on and off the field. During the halfway mark of the season, head coach Garth Brennan was sacked by the club after a string of poor results. The Gold Coast managed to win only 4 games for the entire season and finished last claiming the Wooden Spoon.[13][14]

2020

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and under new NRL biosecurity measures Kelly refused to vaccinate against the flu.[15] He was stood down from the Titans after the Queensland Government stood by the flu vaccination measures previously agreed to by the NRL that 100% of players would be vaccinated prior to the competition restarting.[16][17] He was given a last minute reprieve from suspension after agreeing to vaccinate.[18]

References
  1. "Brian Kelly - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 20 May 1996. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  2. "Indigenous Titans, Eels get back to their roots". NRL.com. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  3. "Rabbitohs favourites to poach under-20's star Brian Kelly from Titans". Couriermail.com.au. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  4. "K". Nyc Database. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  5. "PAY'S SAY: NSW Under-20s side". NSWRL.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  6. Titans.com.au (3 September 2015). "Talented trio retained until 2017". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  7. "Updated: Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  8. SeaEagles.com.au (18 November 2016). "Manly sign exciting youngster Brian Kelly". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  9. "Updated team lists: Sea Eagles v Eels". NRL.com. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  10. NRL Digital Media. "Final NRL team to play Eels". Sea Eagles. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  11. "Impressive Eels beat brave Sea Eagles". NRL.com. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  12. Whaley, Pamela (8 November 2018). "Brian Kelly has been granted a release from Manly to return to the Gold Coast". Fox Sports. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  13. Staff (11 September 2019). "The Titans are full of 'hot air'. Their latest blunder proves it". Fox Sports Australia. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019.
  14. "Gold Coast Titans sack coach Garth Brennan". The Guardian.
  15. Walsh, Dan (8 May 2020). "Two Titans stood down after refusing flu vaccinations". NRL.com. National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020.
  16. Tiernan, Eamonn (12 May 2020). "NRL anti-vaxxers given simple ultimatum to play in 2020". 7NEWS. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020.
  17. Craddock, Robert (12 May 2020). "The government, not the NRL merchants who make rules on the run, is in charge of Queensland". The Courier Mail. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020.
  18. Staff (14 May 2020). "NRL anti-vax backflipper breaks silence after D-Day jab". 7NEWS. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
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