Rhys O’Keeffe has agreed to terms as a rookie for 2013. The arrangement, on the back of Carlton’s signings of Brock McLean and Tom Bell, means the club has now realized its objective of securing all of its required players.
 
“We obviously identified a couple of guys who were no longer required and we did that fairly early,” Carlton General Manager - Football Operations Andrew McKay said. “The next priority was certainly to lock away the few we hadn’t already (as) we’re confident of considerable improvement next season with our current list.”
 
Of O’Keeffe, McKay said the player looked forward to 2013 on the end of an injury-free second half of the 2012 season.
 
“Rhys showed a bit in the senior games he played off a wing, and got a tough job on (Brendon) Goddard which was a good learning curve for him,” McKay said.
 
“He’s one who didn’t have a pre-season last year, in his case with a foot injury, and he’s another from whom you’d expect improvement with a full pre-season.”
 
Twenty two year-old O’Keeffe, the long-kicking former North Adelaide player, was taken with Carlton’s fifth round selection (No.65 overall) in the 2008 National Draft. A succession of back and hip-related injuries minimized his on-field appearances, prompting the club to first delist him then reclaim him as a rookie with its second round selection (No.35 overall) in 2011.
 
O’Keeffe managed one senior appearance in the 14th round of 2011 and two through 2012.