A second-rower, Kel joined Ayr in 1951. Kel played 4 seasons with Ayr. In 1955, Kel joined the South Brisbane Magpies. Kel played 5 games for South Brisbane (3 tries). In 1956, Kel joined the Western Suburbs Magpies; Kel was a Western Suburbs grand final team member in 1958, 1961 and 1963. Kel played 111 games for Western Suburbs over 8 seasons. (30 tries). In 1964, Kel joined the Maitland Pickers as captain-coach. Kel led Maitland to the 1965 premiership. Kel played 2 seasons for Maitland.
Kel played 8 games for Queensland from 1953-55. Kel played 3 games for City Firsts from 1956-61. Kel also played 8 games for New South Wales from 1956-58. Kel played 20 test matches for Australia from 1954-58 (7 tries).
In 2004, Kel was selected in the second-row in the Western Suburbs Team of the Century. In 2008, Kel was chosen as one of Australia’s 100 Greatest Players. In 2009, Kel was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. In 2018, Kel was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame.
Kel passed away on January 22 2015