Career flashes past Kellaway
01 September 2006
Herald-Sun
Mike Sheahan
FOR most Richmond supporters, there was an obvious replacement for the suspended Ray Hall: fellow tall, experienced defender Andy Kellaway.
Richmond supporters love Kellaway, and with good reason. He is passionately yellow and black, as tough and brave as Captain Blood, reliable, and has recovered from the hamstring tear he suffered tumbling off his surfboard a few weeks ago.
Kellaway, though, has been named in the emergencies for tomorrow's game against West Coast, Hall replaced by the smaller, quicker Tom Roach.
With doubts on a couple of Tigers, he may yet play against the Eagles, but it might be his farewell appearance, too.
The veteran backman suddenly is face to face with his football mortality, despite his sound form before the surfing mishap that might end up dumping him from Punt Road.
Kellaway looms as a casualty of modern football.
As tough and brave as he is, his pace and disposal put him at risk.
With Richmond on the climb and him turning 31 in November, he is a victim of evolution.
Like his brother, Duncan, before him, there's nothing he wouldn't give for the team, but the emphasis on pace and foot skills grows by the year.
Andrew may have Duncan covered as a kick, but that doesn't make him Jimmy Jess.
Sadly it's no longer just enough to be a fierce competitor, to attack the ball or man with raw courage, to beat your opponent, to bleed for the team. That's a culture from a different era.
The model defence in the modern game is built on rebound and creativity rather than simply negating the best of the opposition forwards.
At Richmond, the change is symbolised by the attacking style of Joel and Patrick Bowden, Andrew Raines, Chris Hyde and Brett Deledio.
Kellaway will wake up today wondering where it's all gone wrong. The warning bells started to sound when no one from the club raised the issue of a new contract. That's got to be a concern come August in the last year of a contract, and it was.
Kellaway's fate will be determined in discussions with coach Terry Wallace early next week, but a modified one-year contract appears the best possible outcome for him.
Wallace told the Herald Sun in June: "He has become a very valuable contributor and we wouldn't be the same side without him."
Sadly for the surfer/footballer, the Tigers have won three of four games in his absence, kicking 20 goals in the three wins.
If he gets a chance tomorrow, the West Coast forwards will know he's back.
He literally will be playing for his career and that's a fearsome thought for any opposition.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,20321258%255E19742,00.html
