A scathing post-match rebuke from Greater Western Sydney interim coach Mark McVeigh has led to some significant player meetings on Monday but star on-baller Josh Kelly is adamant none of his teammates have “checked out” for the season.
That was McVeigh’s assessment after the horror 73-point loss to Sydney on Saturday as the Giants slumped to a 14th loss for the season amid a growing expectation more senior players will exit at the end of the year.
Kelly conceded the playing group was “embarrassed” in their efforts and had “let down” McVeigh, who has entered the process to be the full-time coach in 2023, with former Hawthorn mentor Alastair Clarkson having also met with club officials on numerous occasions.
Amid reports the players sent text messages to apologise to McVeigh in the wake of the defeat, Kelly said he wouldn’t “talk on specifics” about how individual players responded.
But he said any weekend apologies didn’t stop the players looking each other “in the eye” on Monday and having the hard conversations Kelly was adamant had been at the cornerstone of all their success and were needed now more than ever.
“We feel like we let Mark down on the weekend, we feel like we let one another down,” he said.
“We are a tight footy club and we expect more of each other, I expect more of myself and I owe that to my teammates.
“If we have pride in the football club and respect for our teammates we have to better than we are now. We’ve always had honest conversations as a football club …. we have to be passionate about what we want to stand for.
“That started today, we had some strong conversations, we looked each other in the eye.
“That’s what we have always prided ourselves on as a footy club, when things aren’t going well, being able to come together, discuss these things then come out the other side.
Kelly conceded the “checked out” reference from McVeigh was more applicable to moments in games than players giving up on the season with finals no longer part of the equation.
“We check out in moments in games, that’s not acceptable for one another,” Kelly said.
Since making the 2019 Grand Final, GWS have won only 25 of 60 games, including only five this year and without a coach in place for 2023 risk losing more players to rival clubs.
Kelly was one of only eight McVeigh said ‘went to the wall’ and fought through until the end of the game with some of those players being linked to other clubs in 20213, like Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper, not on the interim coach’s list.
But Kelly, who himself has been the subject of intense trade debate in recent years, said constant talk about trades had never been a distraction at the Giants and was no excuse for the sort of football they are currently producing.
“Absolutely not. We’ve always dealt with trade rumours and players being linked to certain clubs,” he said.
“Every time there is a link, it’s very hard to tell that within the club. Boys are absolutely committed. I love those boys, they love the footy club, it’s just something we deal with.
“I am really confident we are able to maintain the culture, despite having a few ups and downs this year, and we will come out the other side stronger.
“We’re going through a bit of a tough patch at the moment. Walking around the club there is still a motivation and a hunger to be better.”
Originally published as AFL 2022: GWS star Josh Kelly is adamant his teammates have not checked out after harsh coach criticism
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