Career
He played for Wellington, the Balmain Tigers, New South Wales and for both the New Zealand and Australian national sides. He also had a long coaching career with five different clubs in the NSWRFL in the 1920s, "30s and "40s, and with New Zealand in 1932. Born in Westport, Kelly played first class rugby union for Buller when he was 18 and later represented Wellington.
Kelly switched to rugby league with the launch of the Wellington Rugby League competition in 1912 and played for Athletic in their grand final loss to Petone.
He became a Wellington representative and toured Australia in 1912 and 1913 with the New Zealand national side. Number test matches were played with the Kiwis meeting New South Wales and Queensland and a number of regional sides.
He played in Wellingtons 1913 victory over Auckland. He joined the Balmain Tigers in Sydney in 1914 and that same year made his sole international Test appearance as a centre for Australia in the first Test against England at the Royal Agricultural Ground.
He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo Number.
90.
He made further representative appearances for New South Wales in 1915 and captain-coached an undefeated Balmain Tigers side to the club"s first premiership victory in season 1915. He was the first New Zealander to appear in an NSWRL grand final. Kelly enlisted in the 1st AIF in 1916 in Sydney.
He joined Machine Gun Company Number.
9 and embarked for the Western Front on HMAT Benalla in May 1916. He was a Sergeant when he sustained wounds in Belgium which saw him repatriated in October 1917.
Kelly turned to coaching Sydney teams and guided the Balmain Tigers to the 1939 NSWRL premiership. He coached University (1923–1924), Newtown (1936–1937), Balmain Tigers (1938–1943), Saint George Dragons (1944) and Canterbury Bankstown in 1945.
After such a long coaching career, Billy Kelly was widely known as the Prince of Coaches.
In 1932 Kelly returned to New Zealand. He coached both New Zealand and Auckland against the 1932 Great Britain team In 2012 he was named in the Wellington Rugby League"s Team of the Century.