Tye Kelson joins grandfather, dad, uncles in pulling on senior Merrivale jumper

Jack, the Tigers' leading senior games-holder with 276, was soon pleasantly surprised to hear Tye had been called up for his first senior game.

"I wished him all the best and congratulated him," Jack said. "Then I thought we better come down here and I went into the rooms before the game and tried to give him a couple pointers on what to expect. It was a pretty proud moment."

A name synonymous with the Merrivale Football Netball Club, the Kelsons have bled yellow and black over the years, with Tye the first of a third generation within the family to pull on a senior guernsey.

First was Jack Sr, with sons, late Stephen, David (Tye's father), Brett, late Shaun and Jade all following in their father's footsteps in representing Merrivale as players and coaches.

Living up the road from the club, Jack said it was a natural choice to come and play in front of the yellow and black faithful.

He finished with a senior flag in 1979, coached back-to-back under 17 premierships and was chairman of selectors when Stephen coached the Tigers to their 1996 senior premiership.

Now it's Tye's time to take up the mantle for the family, the 20-year-old admitting it was a surprise to get the call up from senior coach Josh Sobey.

"He asked if I'd want to play and obviously I was pretty keen to do it," Tye said.

First joining the club through Auskick, Tye spent last year plying his trade in reserves before his senior call up six rounds into the 2022 Warrnambool and District league season.

"It meant a lot for me to be able to play and it clearly felt like (my late uncles) were watching over me the whole time," he said. "And it was good to get the family support with everyone coming down to watch."

David, a life member at Merrivale, relished the chance to see his son get an opportunity at the senior level.

"He actually played well, got a few touches, it was really good for him," David said.

Having had his first taste of the next level, Tye hopes to push for more senior opportunities this season and thanked Sobey and his teammates for getting around him on the day.

"It was really good to get the win (on Saturday) I was really stoked with it," he said of Merrivale's 43-point win over Allansford.

"It felt like the team as a whole played really well. It was a completely different game than what I'm used to, it's faster pace and the skill level as well, but it was really fun."

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