The team of New Zealand development squad member Greg Ruaporo, national pairs champion Blake Signal, Black Jack Ali Forsyth and Kelly cruised through section play to qualify with five wins from five games.
Their narrowest win came in the first round when they beat Joe Whitelaw (Onehunga) 18-17. The team was not tested in their remaining four games.
The biggest win was the 30-6 margin over Ralph Bax (Hikutaia).
There is a lot at stake for Kelly, a member of the Black Jacks 10-man elite squad. A win in the fours could catapult him into the five-man team for World Bowls.
Kelly (23), a civil engineering cadet, admits that the earthquake and the other life experiences he has gone through in the last year have given him a different perspective on bowls.
He is now more disciplined on the green and has eliminated the loose shots that cost him wins in the past.
When Kelly first burst on to the national scene six years ago he was noted more for his driving.
But he now concentrates on the draw shot and uses the drive only sparingly.
His best international performance was to win a gold medal at the junior World Cup in 2010. He was also a member of the New Zealand under-25 team that beat Australia in the transtasman series at Adelaide last season.
Sydney-based Ali Forsyth (32), the Black Jacks singles player at the 2008 World Bowls in Christchurch, also has a lot at stake in the fours.
He skipped the winning Composite four at Dunedin last year and will be keen to retain his national title.
Another bowler with a lot at stake is Gary Lawson, who is keen to make the Black Jacks again and defend his pairs and fours titles.
Lawson is also chasing an elusive national title to push the great Nick Unkovich off the record books. They have both won 10 titles.
Lawson's Composite team of Chris Le Lievre, Sydney-based Black Jack Richard Girvan and Black Jack Danny Delany fought back effectively after losing their first-round game.
They won their next four games and clinched a qualifying spot yesterday by beating Ken Taylor (Onehunga) 16-12 and former Black Jack Shannon McIlroy's Composite team 14-13 in a nail-biter.
Shannon McIlroy's elite Composite team qualified for post-section play with a comfortable 21-5 win over veteran Lou Newman (Victoria).
Both teams had won three games and needed the win to reach the play-offs.
Other notable qualifiers in the men's fours are Neville Hill (Avondale) with five wins from five games, Tony Marinkovich (Browns Bay), Ross Haresnape (Browns Bay), Lance Pascoe (Composite), and Peter Sain (Cornwall).
Key women qualifiers are singles champion Sandra Keith (Leeston), defending champions Sue Burnand (Composite), Avril Suter (Henderson) and Ann Bateman (Northland).
