An AFL great will retire under-appreciated by far too many

Dual-Coleman Medalist Josh Kennedy bids farewell after one final game this weekend. Make no mistake, he’ll walk away as one of the great key forwards. His record speaks for itself.

The West Coast Eagles will farewell a champion, as veteran Josh Kennedy prepares for his final game this Sunday. It’s the end of an era for the near-300 game strike forward who’s kicked 715* goals since his debut for Carlton in 2006, top 25 all time for AFL/VFL majors.

With the conversation now centred on the impact that Kennedy has made, it’s no surprise some of the game’s biggest names are sharing tributes for the 34-year-old from Northampton, Victoria, who was taken with pick 4 in the 2005 AFL Draft. He’s the seven-time leading goal kicker for West Coast, a three-time All Australian, two-time Coleman Medalist and was part of the Eagles’ 2018 premiership side. 

It’s a career spanning 17 seasons, 292 games and remarkable productivity right the way through. But even with a record as extensive as Kennedy’s, the Eagle has remained under-appreciated to those living outside of Western Australia. 

He gained collateral profile as a trade piece when the Blues acquired Chris Judd at the end of 2007, after Kennedy’s second season in the league. There’s a tangential discussion around ‘who won’ the trade, a compliment to his accomplishments. Frankly, West Coast can’t be happier with their returns, even if the rest of Australia overlooks how dominant he’s been in royal blue and gold.

Kennedy holds the record for the most goals scored in a season, since 2009, banging 80 in his 2016 campaign. He was not the sort of ‘jenga piece’ player that went missing in big games, either, headlined by three goals in that 2018 decider against Collingwood, a key contribution as West Coast recorded its fourth flag. 

Even as his body started to weather into its 30s, ‘JJK’ has still been a dependable forward option for the Eagles. In what’s been a ‘rebuild’ two-win year for the WA powerhouse, so far, he’s still tallied 29 goals from 14 games. In West Coast’s upset 10-point win over Essendon six weeks ago, he bagged five majors to will his side home. That was along with 12 disposals, five marks and a game-high nine score involvements. But Kennedy cited knee troubles as he announced his decision to hang up the boots. 

“The knee was giving me a bit of grief in pre-season, but I just wanted to train and play,” Kennedy told the media this week. 

“The [recommendations] were that we just need to manage this, but I overruled and said I just want to play as much as I can and train as much as I can.” 

Nothing lasts forever and the Eagles champion has decided that 271 games for West Coast is enough, despite this being the third-last round. Let’s hope it’s footy fans right throughout the country giving him the send off he so richly deserves.