The Tigers father-son with 722 AFL games to learn from... but he’s more than just his nameDylan Bolch
Fox Sports
October 24th, 2025 Richmond father-son draft prospect Louis Kellaway wants to create his own legacy.
Kellaway comes from good football bloodlines. His dad, Duncan, played 180 games for the Tigers back in the day, while two of his uncles also featured at the top level in Ben and Nick Holland - adding another 370 games. Add in another uncle, Andrew Kellaway, who played 172 games for the Tigers and that’s a 722 games worth of experience to lean on.
He’s never felt any pressure to follow in the footsteps of his relatives, but now he’s on the cusp of realising his football dreams himself.
“I want to make my own name. I’ve got a lot of family background with uncles and stuff as well, but I’m my own player and want to show that and prove that,” he told foxfooty.com.au.
Kellaway has leaned on his famous father for help and advice throughout his draft year. The duo will often bounce ideas off one another both pre and post match.
“He’s been a great resource to have, throughout my whole footy career. He’s always been there. He knows the level you have to work at, especially this year as an under 18 going through the draft year,” Kellaway said.
“He’s always had advice, feedback, before games and after games, what I’ve done well or what I can do better.
“I almost expect him to offer a bit of feedback after. We talk through the game as well, about other players, what was good, what was bad. We really bounce off each other.”
Despite the success of his dad at AFL level, Kellaway has never felt any pressure from his family to reach those same heights.
“Not really. My parents have been really good. They expect me to try my hardest and work hard to get the best out of myself, but they haven’t forced anything on me in regards to wanting me to play AFL or pursue academics,” he said.
“They just want me to do what makes me happy and get the most out of myself.
“Dad sets the standards a little bit. He’s told me how hard I need to work to get to that level, obviously still being at the Crows himself knowing what it takes. I’m pretty self-driven.”
If you had to describe Kellaway’s draft year in one word, you’d use the word ‘consistent’.
In a draft pool where others have had serious ups and downs, Kellaway has backed up each and every week as a reliable teammate.
The smooth-moving midfielder was an integral part of South Australia’s National Championships winning team, playing a key role in the on-ball mix alongside the likes of top 10 prospect Dyson Sharp and the hard-working Sam Cumming.
“We had a great group of blokes and went really well with our team-based footy. That was really good to be a part of,” he said.
“I thought I was really consistent, got a similar amount of the ball each game and did some good things so I was pretty happy with that. I would’ve liked a breakout game where I maybe got a bit more of the ball and had a bit more of an impact.”
Kellaway averaged 19.3 disposals at 80 per cent efficiency throughout the Champs, where his elite skills by both foot and hand were on show. He puts his consistent campaign down to the work he did during the week.
“It starts during the week at training. Train how you play, it’s a bit of a cliche and a common saying, but making sure you’re getting the most out of yourself to try and be the best player you can be,” he said.
“Being organised and having a good routine, especially pre-game, was a big thing for me to make sure I’m in the right mental space.”
A highlight of Kellaway’s year was winning the SANFL under 18s premiership with Sturt. It was the culmination of years of hard work as the Double Blues finally broke through.
“It was unreal. We had a tough year 16s, we were probably the best team all year and went down to Centrals in the granny. We didn’t play very well as a team and then last year we got knocked out in the first final by less than a goal to Woodville who went on to win it,” he said.
“We were probably the best team again all year and managed to get it done, we were stoked with it. The boys were pumped and it’s a great bunch of lads.”
Everything Kellaway does he does to the best of his ability. Whether it’s getting up early to do an extra gym session or the hard work he puts into his academic studies.
Kellaway, whose cousin is Victorian cricketer Campbell Kellaway, is studying a Bachelor of Science at Adelaide University.
For many draft prospects they need to balance their draft aspirations with year 12 studies, but Kellaway was fortunate in that he completed his schooling last year.
The flexibility of his university timetable meant it was easier to squeeze in any extras and get the jump on the rest of his draft class.
“I did pretty well at school and didn’t really know what I wanted to do so thought I’d choose something pretty broad and hopefully get a bit of an idea of what sort of pathway I want to head down,” Kellaway said.
“Obviously with school I think you probably have slightly more of a routine that has you a bit more sharper with things to make sure you get stuff done and are really organised. Uni has given me a lot more freedom to get in those extra gym sessions or take a bit more time to do a bit more extra recovery to get the body feeling right. It’s been a big help not being stressed about school.”
While he genuinely weighed up his future a couple of years back, this year the legitimacy of his chances at an AFL career really started to set in.
“Growing up it was always a dream. In the last couple of years you think whether it is the right way to go or to go down academics and study. At the start of this year I was playing well and thought I might be a chance and through the state carnival I knew I needed to put in,” Kellaway said.
Kellaway is a lightly-framed midfielder but does some of his best work at the coalface, where his evasiveness and cleanliness really catches the eye. One player he’s taken a liking to has been Brisbane Lions midfielder Hugh McCluggage.
“I like to say I’m smooth-moving. I feel like I use the ball pretty well, I think that’s probably my greatest attribute. I feel like I kick the ball pretty well, hit targets, use the ball well by hand as well. Good footy IQ,” he began.
“A player I’ve focussed on more than others is Hugh McCluggage. He had a stellar season and a great grand final as well. I feel like I’ve got some similar attributes to him so I tried to watch how he went about it when I watched the Lions play. I try to model my game off him a bit.”
At the beginning of the 2025 Trade Period, Richmond held picks 2 and 3. The reality is, they weren’t going to select Kellaway with either of those selections, but a trade which saw key defender Tylar Young head to the West Coast Eagles means the Tigers now also have pick 38 and 81.
Kellaway has spent a fair bit of time at Punt Road throughout the year. The first occasion was before the club’s ANZAC Day Eve game against Melbourne, where the talented father-son prospect participated in the captain’s run and one of the main sessions.
The second was during the pre-season, when Kellaway and AFL Academy member Louis Emmett headed down to see what an AFL pre–season looks like.
“It was good to see how they prepare for different oppositions and certain players,” he said.
“In pre-season, it was good to see how much work they put in, how much time they spend in the gym, recovery, on the actual track and what the vision and game stuff is all about.”
Kellaway says the experience was “a bit of a reality check” but it also confirmed his belief that he’d be well-suited to a high performance, elite sporting environment.
“It’s not all just games and cruisy trainings like it might be at local level. You see how much work goes into it, it’s just footy, footy, footy. I think I’d be suited to that. I reckon it increased my appetite,” he said.
While the Tigers are yet to officially commit to Kellaway, there’s growing belief that come the start of pre-season, Kellaway will be donning the yellow and black like his father once did.
The Tigers are building a highly talented elite young core and Kellaway wants to be a part of it, but if he doesn’t land at the Tigers on draft night, he’d be happy to get a crack anywhere in the League.
“It would be unreal. It would be pretty cool to continue that legacy but I’d be grateful for an opportunity anywhere,” he said.
Decades ago it was Duncan Kellaway who etched his name into Tiger history, but now it’s time for his son Louis to do the same.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-draft-2025-louis-kellaway-feature-son-of-duncan-kellaway-interview-richmond-tigers-fatherson-stats-highlights-rankings/news-story/53022c55da5122fb4fb228a0e29642d3
