Kelly Shelford (born 4 May 1966) is a New Zealand

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

player who represented

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, including in Test matches that counted towards the 1992 World Cup.

Playing career

Shelford was a Manukau Magpies junior and played for the club in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

competition. In 1985 he won the Bert Humphries Memorial award as the most improved back in the competition. Shelford then switched clubs, joining the Glenora Bears. In 1988 he won the Tetley Trophy as the top try scorer in the competition and in 1989 he won the Rothville Trophy as the player of the year. In 1991 Shelford joined the Otahuhu Leopards. Shelford was also an Auckland representative and played for the New Zealand Māori side between 1986 and 1997. During the 1980s Shelford also played for the

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

in England, where he played only a small number of games, then left with no explanation. Between 1989 and 1991 Shelford was a

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

representative, playing in ten Test matches. In 1991 Shelford joined the

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

. Kelly Shelford played in

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

's 10-40 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the 1994–95 Regal Trophy Final during the 1994–95 season at Alfred McAlpine Stadium,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

on Saturday 28 January 1995. He stayed with the club until the 1997 season, when he left midway through the season. After leaving Warrington, Shelford returned home and joined the Waikato Cougars in the National Provincial Competition.Four clinch spots in Maori team
''Waikato Times'', 30 October 1997 In 1998 Shelford served as the

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

for Hukanui in the Waikato Rugby League. In 1999 he switched to cross town rivals, the Hamilton City Tigers.

Coaching career

Shelford coached the Papakura Sea Eagles in the

competition in 2002 and in 2003 Shelford coached the Manurewa Marlins in the Bartercard Cup.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelford, Kelly 1966 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team players Glenora Bears players Hamilton City Tigers players Manukau Magpies players Manurewa Marlins coaches New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England Otahuhu Leopards players Papakura Sea Eagles coaches Rugby league five-eighths Waikato rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Whitehaven R.L.F.C. players