Former Crow and Bomber Jake Kelly would play a round of golf every now and then during his days off as a footballer.

But Kelly, who lined up in 110 AFL games for Adelaide - including the 2017 Grand Final - never imagined it would lead to him being involved in the sport post-footy.

Fast forward 17 months since Kelly retired, and he is working for LIV Golf as an Account Manager.

Based in London, the 31-year-old returned to South Australia this week, with the golf tournament teeing off at Adelaide’s Grange Golf Club.

“I was a very keen golfer, but not a very good one,” Kelly told AFC Media.

“But I am incredibly lucky to have a job like I have as my first job really outside of football, I am incredibly grateful for it.

“To be able to travel the world going to golf tournaments is fantastic.

“My role is with strategic partnerships and government relations, so essentially I look after the Government contracts and contacts, so essentially it’s partnerships.”

The 168-gamer’s retirement from the AFL at the end of 2024 at the age of 29 may have come as a shock to some, but Kelly conceded he had lost the love of the game.

He was also keen to follow his partner overseas.

Despite moving into a career within sport, it wasn’t what Kelly, who is the son of Collingwood premiership defender and ex-Norwood player Craig Kelly, originally had his eyes on post-AFL.

“I felt very fulfilled in what I had done (in footy), and secondly to that, I was always really keen and always had one eye on the next phase of my life,” Kelly said.

“I was probably more excited about it because I guess there was a slow increase in my lack of enjoyment in the game, and that sort of crept up on me - that I wasn’t enjoying getting better as much as I once had.

“My partner was going overseas… (and) when I sat back and assessed it, I really couldn’t justify doing something that I didn’t want to do just for financial benefit.

“I was going to go down the financial wealth-management path, private wealth path, banking path, but I quickly realised it wasn’t for me and then I decided to move to London and from that, I gravitated to sport - it was probably the area I knew best and an area where I thought I’d be able to get employment.”

To mark his return to SA, Kelly caught up with Crows players including close friend Reilly O’Brien, Mitch Hinge, Luke Pedlar and Nick Murray.

He said it was great to reconnect with former teammates and praised the Club for its welcoming culture.

“It’s really good to see them and it definitely feels like coming back full circle here,” Kelly said.

“I am so grateful that I’ve got a city like Adelaide that is essentially a second home to me… it’s such a special place to me and my partner and I will never forget the people who helped me here.

“To be able to come to the Club and be welcomed that’s something the Crows do really well - there’s such great people down there and to let me come in - Adam Kelly is so open with his time.

“It’s just really special - a club that allows past players to do that and I am so grateful that I have such a great relationship with them and feel comfortable doing that. I am currently staying with ROB, he’s one of my best mates, but I am still so close with so many of them.”

Kelly’s AFL career, meanwhile, spanned across nine years - six with the Crows and three at Essendon.

He joined Adelaide through the 2014 rookie draft and made his debut in round three against Melbourne in 2015.

“I was very excited (to get drafted)… but it was tough the first few years trying to find my feet and become established in the team,” Kelly said.

“Once I did that, though, I genuinely fell in love with it and I had such an amazing time here, particularly the last five years. I look back on that with such great memories.

“But I also look back on the first few years of my time at Adelaide as being hard, but being something that challenged me and I am definitely better for it now having done that, it’s taught me a lot.

“I can’t thank the Club enough for what they did for me.”

After six seasons with the Crows, Kelly signed with Essendon as a free agent at the end of the 2021 season, citing home sickness as the catalyst for joining the Bombers.

“It was largely driven by a desire to get back to Melbourne and to my family, there wasn’t anything beyond that,” Kelly said.

“I loved the people and I loved living here, but it got to a point where I really wanted to be back with Mum and Dad and play football in Melbourne for a few years.

“Essendon came up as an opportunity and it’s a great Club and I loved my time there.

“I was really fulfilled in Adelaide, I had created great memories and I thought I was leaving the Club at a good time where I had really strong relationships and what’s come out of it is that I can go back to the Club and it feels like home.”

Despite not winning a flag, Kelly has positive memories of his football career and reflects on it with joy.

“I remember laughing, I remember creating great relationships and the quality of people there,” Kelly said.

“They’re relationships that I’ll have for the rest of my life, and I’m super grateful for that.

“That’s what I take out of it.”