Playing Career
Vital Statistics
- Born
- Monday, 7th September, 1959
- Current Age
- 64 years and 226 days
Awards & Accolades
Biography
Tough prop, a first grader in Eden at age 17, spent seasons with Lakes United and Waratah Mayfield in Newcastle. Kelly, who spent the 1980-81 off-season playing with the Entraignes club in the south of France, joined Newtown in 1982 and continued his career under Warren Ryan at C’bury following the Jets’ exit from the NSWRL in 1983. A ruthless competitor in each of the Bulldogs' three grand final appearances in the mid-1980s, he was judged to be the best player on the field in the clubs' premiership wins in 1984-85. A ferocious defender and an underrated ball-player, Kelly was unlucky not to have played for Australia during the mid 1980s. Moving to Penrith in 1988 he was an important part of the club's transition to premiership contenders and added much-needed steel to the forward pack. Kelly represented Country Origin in 1988-89 and made his debut for NSW in 1989. A back injury ended his career before the Panthers’ 1990 grand final appearance but he later coached lower grades with the club.
- ALAN WHITICKER
Playing Career Statistics
All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.
To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.
Competitions | ||||||||||||||
| Competition | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL | 141 | 8 | - | - | 29 | 86 | 50 | 5 | 60.99% | List | ||||
| City vs Country Firsts | 1 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | List | ||||
| NRL Finals | 9 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 2 | 0 | 77.78% | List | ||||
| National Panasonic Cup | 5 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40.00% | List | ||||
| City vs Country | 3 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | List | ||||
| State of Origin | 2 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | List | ||||
| Tooheys Challenge Cup | 2 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00% | List | ||||
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Australia - By Team | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| NSW Country Firsts | 1983 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | List | |||
| NSW Country | 1987-89 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | List | |||
| NSW | 1989 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | List | |||
| Overall | 1983-1989 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.00% | List | |||
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NRL/NSWRL - By Year | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Season | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Newtown | NSWRFL 1982 | 23 | 3 | - | - | 9 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 47.83% | List | |||
| Newtown | NSWRFL 1983 | 10 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 40.00% | List | |||
| Canterbury | NSWRL 1984 | 16 | - | - | - | - | 14 | 2 | 0 | 87.50% | List | |||
| Canterbury | NSWRL 1985 | 19 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 73.68% | List | |||
| Canterbury | NSWRL 1986 | 18 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 61.11% | List | |||
| Canterbury | NSWRL 1987 | 15 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 8 | 0 | 46.67% | List | |||
| Penrith | NSWRL 1988 | 16 | - | - | - | - | 9 | 7 | 0 | 56.25% | List | |||
| Penrith | NSWRL 1989 | 14 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 71.43% | List | |||
| Penrith | NSWRL 1990 | 10 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 3 | 1 | 60.00% | List | |||
NRL/NSWRL - By Team | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Newtown | 1982-83 | 33 | 5 | - | - | 17 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 45.45% | List | |||
| Canterbury | 1984-87 | 68 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 46 | 21 | 1 | 67.65% | List | |||
| Penrith | 1988-90 | 40 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 25 | 14 | 1 | 62.50% | List | |||
| Overall | 1982-1990 | 141 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 86 | 50 | 5 | 60.99% | List | |||
Contributions:
AJ Lucantonio, Paul Carter, Rugby League Tables, Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson, Alan Katzmann, Greg Fiveash, Max Turner
Sources:
NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1989-90, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1987-88, Match Video, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1988-89, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1990-91
Your Say
09/04/2011
The best player i have ever had the pleasure of watching that never played for Australia.
31/07/2015
Peter Kelly got man of the match in the 1984 & 1985 grand finals. Yet the back dated clive churchill medal for 1985 was given to Steve Mortimer? I remember that Peter got players player and judged the official man of the match at the ground & by every tabloid except the S.M.H. This error needs to be rectified. Peter should have been the first player picked for the 1984 kangaroo team.
04/02/2016
A Hard Tough Player. Great Memories watching him play the great game.
29/02/2020
Well peter lived next door to me at Eden NSW & Worked as a apprentice at the Forestry Commission NSW he had a mind of his own ,very determined to achieve his own goals just like myself ,he challenged me on many occasions,I would not give into his strength alternative was to challenge him which I’d say made him more determined to achieve which he did.
20/07/2021
I loved Steve Mortimer but that was a slap in the face to Peter Kelly.. He would have earned the Clive Churchill on the day. Being a front rower should not be a disadvantage. Forwards win games.
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