#47 James Kelly - #BackIn

MUST be brought back as a coach, sounds like he wants to as well

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Not sure where is shines from though.

A daughter, whom he hopes becomes a golfer. He said as much when we smashed Port or somebody while dropping his ā€œsouv-a-lakiā€ all over the floor.

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l have also heard a rumour that Stants and Hocking are also retiring. Can anyone confirm?

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Itā€™s been a pleasure to see Kels in the red and black.
Will be missed and hope that if possible, he can take up a coaching position with the Dons.

Thanks Kels.

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Congratulations on a great career James. What you did, in coming out of retirement, was enormous for our club when on its knees. For this, I hold you in the highest regard. Also, to everyoneā€™s pleasure, you showed amazing skill and game awareness while wearing the sash. Thank you soooo much for the last two years. All the best for all your future ambitions.

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Thanks for coming, really enjoyed you donning the Sash and watching you play (liked ya at Geelong too).

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If we donā€™t get him as a coach, gonna rip Xā€™s ā– ā– ā– ā–  off.

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Iā€™m not keen on a just retired player immediately taking on a coaching role at the same club. J Kelly would be good mates with a lot of the blokes he would then be responsible for. Familiarity breeds contempt, so they say. You need some separation.

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Thank you.

he mentored most of the young players last year and this year. and weā€™re clearing out the oldies

Plus heā€™s a player worth respecting that has apparently done some good stuff with our young players.

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No doubt heā€™s a highly regarded player and I donā€™t know anything about his relationship with his team mates. It probably wouldnā€™t be a problem for him but I thought the same thing when D Fletcher retired. Get experience in a different environment then come back in a couple of years with increased authority.

Without doubt the best top-up player the AFL has even seen.

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Thanks Pops. Great to hear him complimenting the club and culture. High praise that we helped him rediscover his love of footy.

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The club has received immense value from the 2 year association. Iā€™m sure all supporters feel very grateful that such a great football person spent some time in the red and black and helped develop our younger players. Cheers Pops, all the best.

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Thanks Pops - you were great. I hope you stick around: youā€™d make a great midfield coach, and weā€™re going to need one next yearā€¦

I really enjoyed having Kelly as an Essendon player. Iā€™ll be forever grateful as a supporter that he bought into the club and embraced it the way we do. I wish him every good thing going forward, and I hope that involves coaching at the EFC.

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Most sane people knew the time was right, and Kelly is smarter than most so itā€™s no surprise he called time. It was absolutely the right decision. Heā€™ll go down as one of the more succesful inclusions into the side this century, he only spent two years at the club but was one of our best in our darkest year and one of the more intelligent and skillful players, even at his age, we had.

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What do the insane people think?

Canā€™t wait to cheer this Champion on for the rest of the season!

Thanks for everything James!

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