GWS star Josh Kelly recently agreed to an eight-year contract extension with the Giants, worth an impressive one-million dollars per season while turning down reported interest from North Melbourne.
The jet midfielder revealed onย Sportsday the difficulty behind his decision to stay due to a tempting deal from the Kangaroos that would also have seen him return to Victoria and follow in the footsteps of his father.
โThere was nothing specific and Iโve said throughout that I always felt a bit of a tie there (North) because of my dad playing football there and supporting them as a kid,โ the 2017 All-Australian said.
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โThat was the kind of thing that was running through my head, but in the end I just felt an obligation to the Giants and the culture that weโve built and I wanted to hang around and have success here and thatโs what Iโm pretty motivated about going forward.โ
This is the second deal Kelly has declined from the Kangaroos, after the club reportedly offered the Giants star a nine-million dollar deal back in 2017.
Yet, despite numerous temptations from North, the Giants' continued progression to win a premiership has played the greatest role in his decision to stay.
โThere was always a bunch of factors running through my head in a big decision like this,โ Kelly said.
โYou build relationships and you want to have success with those people around you and I truly believe and weโre in a position where we can hopefully do it in the near future going forward."
โItโs an exciting place to be and I was rapt to get it done and get it out of the way and just focus on footy.โ
