Ben Keays

Ben Keays (born 23 February 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). His great-grandfather Fred Keays represented both and  in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Early life
Born in Melbourne, Keays participated in the Auskick program at Hampton, Victoria. Keays moved to Brisbane at five years of age and continued playing Auskick at the Morningside Australian Football Club. He attended St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace throughout his schooling years. His great grandfather, Fred, played football for Fitzroy and Collingwood between 1919 and 1922 and served in both World War I and II. His great uncle, Desmond, also played football for Fitzroy while his uncle, Terry, played for Collingwood and Richmond. Ben began playing junior football for the Morningside Panthers and was placed in the Brisbane Lions Academy at the age of 14. He was selected to represent Queensland in the 2014 and 2015 AFL Under 18 Championships,  and was selected in the 2014 and 2015 All-Australian teams. He also captained Queensland to their first division 2 title in nine years at the 2015 AFL Under 18 Championships and won the 2015 Hunter Harrison Medal for his performances across the three games.

Keays was recruited by the Brisbane Lions with their third selection and 24th overall in the 2015 national draft. He was the second academy selection for Brisbane after they matched a bid by the Western Bulldogs.

Brisbane Lions
Keays made his AFL debut for Brisbane in Round 6, 2016, against the Sydney Swans. He won the Andrew Ireland Medal as best afield in the 2017 NEAFL Grand final, amassing 30 disposals, 9 tackles and 2 goals. He was delisted at the conclusion of the 2019 AFL season. Keays was later picked up by the Adelaide Crows at Pick 7 in the 2019 AFL Rookie Draft.

Adelaide Crows
Keays enjoyed a breakout 2020 AFL season, playing 16 games for the Crows. He finished 5th in the Malcolm Blight Medal and won the Players Trademark award.

He received competition-wide recognition with an impressive 2021 AFL season which was rewarded with a 2nd-place finish in the Malcolm Blight Medal. Keays shocked the AFL with an elite disposal average of 28.1 throughout the home-and-away season as well as polling 11 votes in the 2021 Brownlow Medal. In October 2021, he signed a contract which would keep him at the Crows until the end of 2024.

In an August 2023 match against, Keays had a shot for goal late in the game that was controversially adjudged to hit the post, but video evidence, which was only reviewed after the decision was made, deemed this incorrect. The goal would have given the Crows the lead with just a minute left, but the Swans were able to run down the clock and win by a point. This result eliminated Adelaide from finals calculations with one round of the regular season remaining. Keays' kick has become a benchmark for what the AFL is attempting to avoid, with an increasing number of scores being reviewed throughout every game.

Keays became one of three vice-captains of the Adelaide Crows prior to the 2024 season, joining Brodie Smith and Reilly O'Brien. Just months later, he extended his contract with the club until the end of 2027. In July 2024, Keays broke Adelaide's club record for the most consecutive games played with 100 games, overtaking the record 99 games previously held by Scott Thompson. Keays has not missed a game since his club debut in 2020. Just two weeks after a career-best four goals against his former side Brisbane, Keays bested himself by kicking five goals from 22 disposals in what was a clear best-on-ground performance in a two-point victory against.

Statistics
Updated to the end of round 17, 2024.

! colspan=3 | Career ! 129 !! 79 !! 68 !! 1334 !! 1207 !! 2541 !! 406 !! 540 !! 0.61 !! 0.53 !! 10.34 !! 9.36 !! 19.70 !! 3.15 !! 4.19 !! 25
 * 2016 || || 1
 * 16 || 4 || 8 || 60 || 22 || 182 || 22 || 63 || 0.25 || 0.50 || 3.75 || 7.63 || 11.38 || 1.38 || 3.94 || 0
 * 2017 || || 1
 * 10 || 6 || 3 || 70 || 30 || 151 || 30 || 41 || 0.60 || 0.30 || 7.00 || 8.10 || 15.10 || 3.00 || 4.10 || 0
 * 2018 || || 1
 * 2 || 1 || 1 || 11 || 5 || 29 || 5 || 8 || 0.50 || 0.50 || 5.50 || 9.00 || 14.50 || 2.50 || 4.00 || 0
 * 2019 || || 1
 * 2 || 0 || 2 || 15 || 7 || 27 || 7 || 6 || 0.00 || 0.50 || 7.50 || 6.00 || 13.50 || 3.50 || 3.00 || 0
 * 2020 || || 28
 * 16 || 3 || 5 || 147 || 118 || 265 || 47 || 53 || 0.19 || 0.31 || 9.19 || 7.28 || 16.56 || 2.94 || 3.31 || 1
 * 2021 || || 2
 * 22 || 12 || 8 || 350 || 269 || 619 || 82 || 133 || 0.55 || 0.36 || 15.91 || 12.23 || 28.14 || 2.73 || 6.05 || 11
 * 2022 || || 2
 * 22 || 10 || 12 || 315 || 271 || 586 || 73 || 106 || 0.45 || 0.55 || 14.32 || 12.32 || 26.64 || 3.32 || 4.82 || 11
 * 2023 || || 2
 * 23 || 22 || 19 || 218 || 223 || 441 || 72 || 87 || 0.96 || 0.83 || 9.48 || 9.70 || 19.17 || 3.13 || 3.78 || 2
 * 2024 || || 2
 * 16 || 21 || 10 || 248 || 91 || 241 || 68 || 43 || 1.31 || 0.63 || 9.25 || 5.81 || 15.06 || 4.25 || 2.69 || TBC
 * - class=sortbottom
 * 2022 || || 2
 * 22 || 10 || 12 || 315 || 271 || 586 || 73 || 106 || 0.45 || 0.55 || 14.32 || 12.32 || 26.64 || 3.32 || 4.82 || 11
 * 2023 || || 2
 * 23 || 22 || 19 || 218 || 223 || 441 || 72 || 87 || 0.96 || 0.83 || 9.48 || 9.70 || 19.17 || 3.13 || 3.78 || 2
 * 2024 || || 2
 * 16 || 21 || 10 || 248 || 91 || 241 || 68 || 43 || 1.31 || 0.63 || 9.25 || 5.81 || 15.06 || 4.25 || 2.69 || TBC
 * - class=sortbottom
 * 16 || 21 || 10 || 248 || 91 || 241 || 68 || 43 || 1.31 || 0.63 || 9.25 || 5.81 || 15.06 || 4.25 || 2.69 || TBC
 * - class=sortbottom
 * }