Playing Career
Vital Statistics
- Full Name
- Noel Raymond Kelly
- Nickname(s)
- Ned
- Born
- Wednesday, 22nd January, 1936
- Died
- Sunday, 14th June, 2020 (Aged 84 years and 144 days)
- Place Of Birth
- Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Honours & Awards
Based only on data available in the RLP database. This information should be used as a guide only.
- The Ashes
- 1963/1964, 1966, 1967/1968
- Test Series
- Australia vs New Zealand 1959, Australia vs France 1960, Australia vs New Zealand 1963, Australia vs South Africa 1963, 1963/64 France vs. Australia, Australia vs France 1964, Australia vs New Zealand 1967
- Interstate Series
- 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1966
Biography
The first hooker/prop forward to make three Kangaroo tours (1959-60, 1963-64 & 1967-68), Noel ‘Ned’ Kelly represented Queensland in 1959 while part of a great Ipswich front row partnership with Gary Parcell and Dud Beattie. Queensland's success that year under Clive Churchill saw Kelly play for Australia against NZ before touring with the Kangaroos. He was the No.2 hooker to Ian Walsh on tour but played in one Test against France. In 1960 he represented Australia in the First Test against France and in the World Cup before commencing a long career with Wests. Kelly played in three straight grand final losses against St George (1961-63) but his Test career continued unabated. In 1963 he played Tests against all three League nations as well as newcomers South Africa and made his second Kangaroo tour, supporting Australian captain and hooker Ian Walsh as a front row forward. Kelly was a roguish character, as his comical sending off (twice in the same match!) in a tour game in Avignon, France at testifies. On his third Kangaroo tour he was back at hooker in five Test matches. He left Wests after two years as captain-coach (1968-69) but later regretted his season as captain-coach of Wollongong in 1970. Kelly later coached Norths (1973-76) as well as taking a combined Sydney team on a tour of NZ in 1976.
- 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 | Comp Wins | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ashes | 3 | 8 | 1 | - | - | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 75.00% | List | ||||
| World Cup | - | 3 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | ||||
| Tour Matches | Australia | - | 30 | 3 | 1 | - | 11 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 73.33% | List | |||
| Tour Matches | Queensland Firsts | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00% | List | |||
| Tour Matches | Sydney Firsts | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||
| Tour Matches | New South Wales Firsts | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||
| Test Series | 10 | 25 | 2 | - | - | 3 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 72.00% | List | ||||
| Interstate Series | 5 | 10 | 2 | - | - | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 70.00% | List | ||||
| City vs Country Firsts | - | 2 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | ||||
| NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) | - | 111 | 6 | - | - | 18 | 62 | 46 | 3 | 55.86% | List | ||||
| NSWRFL Finals | - | 7 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 4 | 0 | 42.86% | List | ||||
| Preseason Cup | - | 34 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 58.82% | List | ||||
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Test Matches - By Team | |||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| Australia | 1959-60, 1963-64, 1966-68 | 29 | 3 | 1 | - | 11 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 72.41% | List | ||||
International Matches - By Team | |||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| Australia | 1959-1960 | 1 | 2 | - | - | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | ||||
World Cup Matches - By Team | |||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| Australia | 1959-1960 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | ||||
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Australia - By Team | |||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| QLD Firsts | 1959-60 | 7 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 71.43% | List | ||||
| Sydney Firsts | 1963-64 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | ||||
| NSW Firsts | 1963-64, 1966-67 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 66.67% | List | ||||
| NSW City Firsts | 1963-64 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | ||||
| Overall | 1959-1967 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 76.47% | List | ||||
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NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) - By Year | |||||||||||||||
| Team | Season | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| Western Suburbs | NSWRFL 1961 | 13 | - | - | - | - | 9 | 4 | 0 | 69.23% | List | ||||
| Western Suburbs | NSWRFL 1962 | 16 | 2 | - | - | 6 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 56.25% | List | ||||
| Western Suburbs | NSWRFL 1963 | 17 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 76.47% | List | ||||
| Western Suburbs | NSWRFL 1964 | 16 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 9 | 1 | 37.50% | List | ||||
| Western Suburbs | NSWRFL 1965 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 | 50.00% | List | ||||
| Western Suburbs | NSWRFL 1966 | 11 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 4 | 0 | 63.64% | List | ||||
| Western Suburbs | NSWRFL 1967 | 9 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 4 | 1 | 44.44% | List | ||||
| Western Suburbs | NSWRFL 1968 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50.00% | List | ||||
| Western Suburbs | NSWRFL 1969 | 19 | 3 | - | - | 9 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 47.37% | List | ||||
NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) - By Team | |||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| Western Suburbs | 1961-69 | 111 | 6 | - | - | 18 | 62 | 46 | 3 | 55.86% | List | ||||
Contributions:
Greg Fiveash, Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson, Max Turner, Rugby League Tables, Alan Katzmann, Tony McCarron, Paul Carter, Wests Archives, Bill Bates
Your Say
01/03/2012
Noel Kelly was easily the toughest football player I ever saw. He could knock a man down with one punch and rarely took a backward step on the field. Off the field he was(and is) a gentleman. My mother and I often visited his butcher shop in the 1960's and he was always cheerful and polite to all his customers.
06/11/2013
i meet mr kelly in sydney many years ago i was taking whoa mate who was going for trials i took to western subs as he had no car i asked mr kelly could i train with them which he agreed i played in a trial match and he pick me to play against balmain but i soon found i was never good enough i got injured it took weeks to get with my own laperouse i phoned him to tell him i was fit but told him iknew i was out of my depth he was insistant a tryed again and made me feel confident again i was ever graetfull to have met this gentle giant of rugby league and wish him all the happiness in the worid kp
01/03/2024
Ned passed away 14/6/2020. I only started to follow Wests in 1968. Noel's penultimate year. Yet I've read and heard so much about him after he retired. People still talk about him. That's the mark of a true legend.
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