Paul Kelly's decision to get more involved at Wagga Tigers has been welcomed by both the club and his family ahead of a big grand final day on Saturday.
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The 1995 Brownlow Medallist and Sydney Swans legend started doing the running for Tigers midway through last season.
It started out as helping out while the club was struggling but has developed into a greater involvement that will see him front and centre on Saturday when Wagga Tigers face Griffith in the Riverina League grand final.
Not only will Kelly be doing the running in the seniors, he has also led Tigers' big recruitment drive and been part of match committee.
"It's been good, I've enjoyed it," Kelly said.
"I started to get involved in the middle of last season. I started to do the running and that when we were pretty ordinary and not winning too many games. Just showed the boys a bit of love.
"From that, I got involved in the recruiting side of things, talking to a few of the Tigers boys, and a couple of outsiders as well.
"It is enjoyable. It's time consuming though. It's really time consuming but it has been good and it's come together really good. It's a good feel."
It will be a big day for the Kelly family on Saturday.
Eliza will play in the A reserve netball grand final, while Harry is part of Tigers' under 17 team through to the decider.
Jackson and Paul will be involved in the first grade grand final, with only a hamstring injury robbing Ben from taking his place alongside them.
"It's very disappointing. I missed out in 2016 with bad ribs so it's second time round but hopefully there will be more," Ben said.
"I can't great a break. It sort of plagued me for the second half of the season and it had enough on the weekend so I've got to pay the price now."
While disappointed to miss out on another grand final, Ben said he has loved having his Dad involved this season.
"It's been really good. It would be my most enjoyable season to date, I'd say," Ben said.
"It's just been good on and off the field, being able to go home and talk about footy with Dad. He's probably had his most involvement in my footy this year so it's been good."
Jackson has returned after a couple of years in the Ovens and Murray League, a decision he does not regret.
"It's been bloody awesome. Just playing with my junior club again, with all my mates that came back," Jackson said.
"It's good to play with Ben, and Dad's doing the running. It's pretty funny, having him running out there and yelling messages at you but it's pretty good, I like it."
Eliza, 16, is also hopeful of holding up her end of the bargain when she steps out at goal attack in the A reserve grand final.
"I think we've got a good chance, if everyone wants it enough and goes hard," Eliza said.
Wagga Tigers coach Troy Maiden said Kelly's involvement, particularly with recruiting, played a major part in the club's revival.
"Kel's been great. Good for me to bounce ideas off," Maiden said.
"Certainly if you've got Paul Kelly, I suppose, on the other end of the phone. It's a bit of a feather in your cap if he's pretty keen for you to come to his club."
Maiden also singled out Jackson Kelly for praise given he was one of their first recruits to commit in the off-season.
"A key moment, if we look back, was Jack Kelly. He took a bit of a leap of faith," he said.
"I suppose it's handy when Paul is heading up the recruiting...and he's obviously good mates with some of the others that came back as well but for him to take that leap of faith initially, it started a bit of a flow on, which was nice."
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