Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron has heaped praise on star midfielder Josh Kelly, saying he should be categorised with the very best players in the competition.
Kelly was a dominant figure in the Giants’ gritty 21-point win over Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval yesterday, collecting 30 disposals, five clearances and two goal assists.
The 23-year-old has missed a large chunk of the season due to a groin injury, but Cameron says it’s a testament to Kelly’s quality that he’s been able to return and play at such a high level.
“I’m being biased, but I think he’s one of the top three to four players (in the competition),” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“He makes things happen, we see that week in week out.
“Especially on the back of his interrupted pre-season and interrupted year, to still do the things that he’s doing, even though we’ve got to modify his loads and make sure that he can get ready for game day.
“Clearly he wins his own footy; he goes inside, he goes outside and he plays in multiple positions. They're the sort of players that you actually love to coach.”
The former Western Bulldogs and Richmond midfielder says watching Kelly grow not only as a player, but as a leader, has been extremely rewarding.
“I think the best thing about Josh is that he’s honest as anyone with his appraisal. He’s really hard on himself and he’s become a young leader of our footy club,” Cameron added.
“That’s the proudest thing I can say about him because with those sort of players they can just worry about their own game as such, but Josh is the total opposite.
“He’ll work on his game but he’ll make sure that he’s helping others.”
Despite missing six games through injury, Kelly is still having a fine season, averaging 27.7 disposals and 5.7 tackles per match.
Listen to Leon Cameron's interview on SEN's Whateley with Gerard Whateley in the player below