[5] Gelavis began his senior career with Subiaco in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and played from 1949 to 1951.
He was cleared from Subiaco to South Melbourne in 1952,[6][7][8][9] and made his senior VFL debut in 1953.
[10] Having not played a senior game for South Melbourne that season, Gelavis was cleared to Footscray on 12 June 1954.
A mid-season job as a radio announcer in Tasmania led to Gelavis being given a clearance from Sandringham to Devonport in the North West Football Union (NWFU) competition.
[14][15][16] On 12 May 1956 Gelavis represented the NWFU in an intrastate match against the Northern Tasmanian Football Association and was named among the best players.