James Kelly's two seasons at Essendon may have changed the course of the rest of his working life.
After 273 games and three premierships in 14 years at Geelong, it looked as though Kelly was done. He had even moved into a job in the AFL's football operations department as the retired footballer embarked on his next phase.
![Retiring Bomber James Kelly has his sights set on coaching.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170818185714im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/0/u/a/6/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxxeue.png/1502878444917.jpg)
It all changed when catastrophe hit the Bombers. The bans handed to 12 2016-listed Dons were disastrous, but among the silver linings has been Kelly's second stint as a player; 37 games in red and black, and perhaps a handful more.
Initially uncertain about whether he had it in him to return to the field, Kelly, 33, who on Wednesday announced he was retiring for good at the end of the season, says he was glad he accepted Essendon's overtures. "I was pretty done when I finished at Geelong. No one expected me to end up here, or what happened to happen," Kelly said.
"I was pretty worn out and tired, and the Essendon footy club sort of reignited my passion for the game.
"I've always considered myself a Geelong person, but certainly I'll always have a soft spot for Essendon."
It turned out there was some good football left in the veteran. Playing mainly at half-back, Kelly was runner-up in the Dons' best and fairest last year, and has missed just three games in 2017.
He and coach John Worsfold both acknowledged that Kelly could have played on into 2018, but that the time was right to call it a day, joining a growing list of players to have announced their retirements in recent weeks, including Kelly's Bombers teammate Jobe Watson and Steve Johnson, who farewelled the Cats alongside Kelly and Mathew Stokes at the end of 2015.
"I was probably 50-50, and I think the club was probably 50-50 as well," Kelly said.
"Where I got to was I really felt it wasn't the best thing for the club for me to keep playing. I'm sure I could have. We genuinely got there mutually.
"The best thing is just to finish now and hand it over to other guys who need the opportunity to play and be good players."
The timing of the decision came in large part because of what will come next for Kelly, who wants to coach. That hadn't been the case when he left the Cats, but his time spent with the emerging Dons stoked the coaching flame within.
"It was getting to that point where James needed to know if he wanted to pursue a coaching career or opportunities he could start to look for now, rather than waiting until post season," Worsfold said.
"We felt for where we were at, we've got some good young talent looking for opportunities to come in and be part of playing senior footy. That's the decision that we made on that."
Kelly said he'd told the AFL he wouldn't be returning to the football operations role. "Part of my journey over the last couple of years has been I feel like [coaching is] something I really want to do and need to do. I feel like I can add some value," Kelly said.
As a player, Kelly said he had been difficult to coach at times, with his strong views on football occasionally rubbing people the wrong way. His attitude had also been an issue early in his time at the Cats.
"Early in my career I started pretty well and if I'm being really honest, I probably got a bit ahead of myself. I thought that I'd had a good first couple of years and that I was just going to flow on from there and be a gun.
"I'd forgotten what work needed to go in ... football bit me in the bum a bit."
Kelly is still hoping for one last run to the finals. The Dons remain a live chance to make it, a game and 1.2 per cent outside the top eight with matches against Gold Coast (Metricon Stadium) and Fremantle (Etihad Stadium) to come. The outgoing champion said it would be a great experience for the Dons to make it.
"Whether you play finals at any level, under-18s, VFL or AFL, it's invaluable experience. This group's got the opportunity to do that. We've still got a lot of young guys in the group that early in their careers can taste what finals footy's like and that certainly sets you up," Kelly said.
Worsfold said ruckman Tom Bellchambers (foot) would be available to face the Suns on Saturday night provided he pulls up OK from training.
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