Career
Keays was just 16 years of age when he began playing senior VFL football in 1987, the youngest Collingwood football player to debut since Rene Kink and Stephen Clifford in 1973. A utility, he played 10 games in his debut season and also represented Victoria in the Teal Cup that year. Keays added just four games to his tally over the next two seasons, then made six appearances in 1990, a premiership year, the last of which was in round 20.
Keays was traded to Richmond for the fourth pick in the 1990 American Federation of Labor-Congress Draft, which Collingwood used to secure Jason McCartney.
By the end of the season he had amassed 27 goals, placing him third in the Richmond goal-kicking behind Jeff Hogg (68) and Chris Naish (38). In 1993 he played with the Frankston Football Club and although he was picked up again by Collingwood in the Mid-Season Draft, he didn"t play another league game for the club
He was a playing coach for Tasmanian club Latrobe in 1994 and topped the NTFL goal-kicking that season with 117 goals.