Defender Jake Kelly has signed a two-year deal, tying him to the Crows until at least the end of 2017.

Kelly, 20, was recruited by the Crows with pick No.40 in the Rookie Draft of December, 2013.

After playing in all three of the Club’s NAB Challenge games this year, Kelly was promoted to the senior list in May. He made a promising AFL debut against Melbourne at Adelaide Oval in Round Three, and has played 10 AFL matches this season.

Kelly said he jumped at the opportunity to continue his career with the Crows.

“I’m rapt to be at the Club for another two years,” Kelly said.

“It’s a fantastic Club. We’re going in the right direction, I know that for sure.”

Crows Head of Football David Noble praised Kelly’s attitude.

“Jake is a super competitor and someone who always thinks about the team first,” Noble said.

“His attack on the footy and the opposition is a real asset and something we value highly.”

Jake is the son of Collingwood premiership defender, Craig Kelly, who also played 121 games for SANFL club Norwood.

In his first season at Adelaide, Kelly played every game for the Club’s SANFL team, finishing joint-runner up in the best and fairest award. He led the SANFL Crows for marks and averaged 16 possessions, while also shutting down some of the League’s best forwards.

Kelly’s strong SANFL form translated to AFL level, where he displayed an ability to nullify his direct opponent and also drop off to help his teammates. His competitiveness was also on show in his debut game against the Demons when he laid a team-high 10 tackles.

The 189cm, 84kg, backman said the AFL experience had been invaluable to his development.

“Confidence is the main thing I’ve taken out of my 10 games. I know I can play at the level, play well and do my role for the team,” he said.

“The biggest step up is definitely concentration. Especially in the first few weeks, I found that you have to be concentrating 100 per cent of the game.

“You can’t switch off for even a second or you’ll get caught out.”

Kelly, who was overlooked by Collingwood as a father-son selection, works tirelessly on his game. His coaches and teammates admire and respect his work ethic, dedication and professionalism.

“It’s good to get a reward of a two-year deal,” Kelly said.

“It’s a nice reward for hard work over a few years, but I’ve got a long, long way to go still.”

Kelly has spent the past month playing with the Club’s SANFL team.

He hopes to force his way back into the team before the end of the season, and has aspirations to play a role in the midfield further down the track.

“My goal for the rest of the season is to get back in the AFL team … and, hopefully, we can play finals as a Club, which we’re heading in the right direction to do,” he said.

“Looking towards the next two years, I really want to cement myself in the side. Whatever the coaches want me to do, I’ll do. I think (I’ll play in) defence for the short period but I see myself potentially going into the midfield later and play, maybe, shutdown role or just as a midfielder.”

Kelly follows midfielders Rory Sloane and Richard Douglas, and fellow young defenders Rory Laird and Luke Brown in committing to the Club in the past two months.

The former Oakleigh Chargers junior said the Crows remained in a good position despite the tragic loss of Senior Coach Phil Walsh earlier this month.

“With the events of this year, it’s brought us closer together, I feel,” he said.

“Over the last 8-10 months, ‘Walshy’ put some really good foundations in place for the Club. We’ve really embraced what he brought in and we’re still training those actions in each day and we’re getting better at them. Obviously, Walshy isn’t here anymore, but that doesn’t mean we’re dropping off in any of the standards he set.”