Former Geelong premiership forward Cameron Mooney has urged star Greater Western Sydney midfielder Josh Kelly to resist the massive riches on offer to switch clubs.
The 22-year old has been offered a nine-year, multi-million dollar deal by North Melbourne, while the Giants are refusing to budge on a two-year contract extension.
“I will say this I hope he stays (at GWS),” Mooney said on SEN’s The Run Home.
“I think he will have more of a chance of winning two or three premierships up there, in his time there.
“Then by the age of 25-26 if he wanted to come home, (he’s) still got plenty of football left in him.”
Mooney said regardless of where Kelly goes he will become handsomely remunerated, but ultimately you play for premierships.
“I think he’s got a great head on his shoulders, and I think he’ll look at it and go where is the success going to be?” he said.
“The money will follow, eventually he will get paid whether he stays there, or wherever he goes.
“I know it’s a ridiculous amount they’re talking about, but whatever he does over the next ten years of football he’s going to walk away with a hell of a lot of money, but you want the premierships to go with it.”
He said developing Kelly from purely an outside finisher, to a player who can win his own ball has taken his game to a new level.
“The biggest thing about Josh Kelly is I think he was drafted more as that outside player. He could always win his own ball to a degree, but he was that great finisher,” Mooney said.
“They’ve thrown him more into the middle and he’s winning his own ball, the tough ball. He had 11 tackles on the weekend, so he doing the hard things on the back of being that silky, smooth finishing left footer.
“He is a star.”