Round 9
Melbourne v Hawthorn
Sunday, 25 May
2.10pm, MCG
JOSH Kennedy will make his AFL debut for Hawthorn this Sunday against Melbourne at the MCG. The 19-year-old gets his opportunity on a week where the club is without three senior players. Shane Crawford and Ben McGlynn miss due to suspension while Brent Guerra is absent due to a hamstring injury sustained in the club’s round eight victory over Port Adelaide.
Kennedy, who was recruited from the Sandringham Dragons under the father/son rule at No. 40 in the 2006 National Draft, has been on the cusp of selection several times this season. Continuing his solid form from late last year with the Box Hill Hawks in the VFL, he is noted for his good ball use and savvy around the stoppages.
Kennedy’s debut makes his family the first third-generation family to represent the club. He follows in the footsteps of his father, premiership player John Kennedy Jnr and his grandfather John Kennedy Snr, who was the club’s first premiership coach and four-time best and fairest winner as a player.
General Manager Football Operations, Mark Evans, was delighted to confirm the news on Thursday.
“Josh has been outstanding on the training track and has consistently been one of the best players at Box Hill, for the last six to eight weeks,” Evans said.
“It is a great occasion for the Kennedy family and for the Hawthorn Football Club, with Josh joining a line of history which goes back generations. That said, Josh has earned his call up and he is his own man, and he’s another exciting prospect for Hawthorn supporters to watch come Sunday afternoon.”
Also named in an extended bench are fellow 2006 draftees 19-year-old Jarryd Morton and 20-year-old Brent Renouf.
Other inclusions to the extended interchange bench are forwards Tim Clarke and Mitch Thorp as well as defender Tom Murphy.
It is the second time the Hawks face the Demons in eight weeks and should be confident after inflicting a 104 point victory over the bottom of the table side in round one.
Melbourne has included four new names in a 25 man squad with Adem Yze, Ben Holland, Chris Johnson and Jace Bode returning. Mark Jamar has been omitted.
Team
B: Brown, Gilham, Ladson
HB: Ellis, Croad, Birchall
C: Young, Mitchell, Bateman
HF: Osborne, Franklin, Kennedy
F: Rioli, Roughead, Williams
FOLL: Campbell, Sewell, Lewis
I/C (from): Clarke, Dew, Morton, Murphy, Renouf, Taylor, Thorp
In: Clarke, Kennedy, Morton, Murphy, Renouf, Thorp
Out: Guerra (hamstring), Crawford (suspended), McGlynn (suspended)
B: M. Warnock, C.Garland, D.Bell
HB: C.Bartram, P.Johnson, C.Bruce
C: B.Green, B.McLean, M.Bate
HF: C. Morton, R.Robertson, B.Moloney
F: A.Davey, B.Miller, A.Wonaeamirri|
FOLL: J.White, J.McDonald, N.Jones
I/C (from): J.Bode, S.Buckley, B.Holland, C.Johnson, S.Valenti, J. Frawley, A.Yze
In: Jace Bode, Ben Holland, Chris Johnson, Adem Yze
Out: Mark Jamar (omitted)
