As the
The 26-year-old missed the
A buoyant Kennedy said he is eager for the chance to get out on the field after being cast as a spectator in the last couple of seasons.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “It’s been hard sitting back and watching the last few years with finals.
“I’ve been hanging out to be involved. Hopefully this year I get my chance and make the most of it.”
After being cleared to return to playing in early June, Kennedy spent a month in the NEAFL reacquainting himself with the game, but his impact for the
Playing through the midfield, he collected 35 disposals and kicked two goals in his first match back.
He went on to average 26.3 disposals a game during his four-game stint in the NEAFL before earning the call-up as the AFL side prepared to take on reigning premiers Richmond in Round 17.
“I had a really good set-up with ‘Damo’ (Damian Truslove) and ‘Schneids’ (Adam Schneider), the coaches in the NEAFL,” Kennedy said.
“They gave me a bit of a
“So, they gave me that option and I took it up. I think it helped me in fast-tracking my return to the AFL.
“I had that month in the NEAFL which really built my confidence not just in my football, but in my body as well."
Kennedy’s aim in returning to the AFL was to simply play his role, and hope he held down a spot in the best 22.
He has slotted seamlessly back into the
The
“It’s a really close back six or seven players,” Kennedy said.
"We lost ‘Shawry’ (Heath Shaw) a couple of weeks ago, which was really sad for the group, but a few boys have come in and really played their role.
“At the same time, we’ve held up strong in some pretty disappointing losses. That only brings us closer and
The defenders have a tough task ahead in quelling the Swans’ forwards, led by spearhead Lance Franklin.
The recently-crowned Virgin Australia All Australian captain booted five goals as the Swans stormed home to take the win in round 22.
He had been kept quiet by Davis early, but when the
Kennedy said it would take a concerted effort to limit the Swans’ scoring opportunities in the elimination final.
“I think it’s not just the backs, it’s the same with the mids and the forward – it’s a full-team effort,” Kennedy said.
“They’re very dangerous up forward as we know; they’ve got a couple of really good players.
“We’ll have to be at our best to nullify them and their goals and what they do up forward.”
After losing the final two games of the home and away season, Kennedy said it was important not to “shy away from” the results but was confident the team could get back to their impressive form of the 10 weeks prior come Saturday.
After many in the media said the
“I think it’s really built the resilience of the group,” Kennedy said.
“It’s a long year and not everything goes your way; we’ve learned that. But we’ve got ourselves in a position where we can go for what we really want to go for in the end, and that’s a premiership.
“The first step into that journey is knocking the Swans off on Saturday, so we’ll have to bring our best and hopefully we can get the win there.”
