Ben Kennedy (Australian Rules Footballer)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ben Kennedy (born 3 March 1994) is a former professional
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
er who played for the
Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...
and
Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...
in the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
(AFL). A
small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...
, tall and weighing , Kennedy is able to contribute as a crumbing forward and is also capable of moving into the
midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...
. He played top-level football from a young age by representing
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
from fifteen years of age, including as a bottom aged player in the 2011 AFL Under 18 Championships, and playing in 's senior side in the
South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...
(SANFL) at seventeen. His junior achievements included two-time selection in the under 18
All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...
side, a SANFL star search nomination, and selection in the South Australian under 18 team of the decade. He was recruited by the
Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...
with the nineteenth selection in the
2012 AFL draft The 2012 AFL draft consisted of five opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2012/13 Australian Football League off-season. These were: *2012 trade period; which was held between 1 October and 26 October, and for the first time incorp ...
and he made his debut in the 2013 season. He played three seasons with Collingwood for a total of twenty-five matches before he was traded to Melbourne during the 2015 trade period. In October 2017, Kennedy was delisted by Melbourne after managing only 15 games in two seasons.


Junior career

Kennedy played his junior career with the Brighton Bombers before moving to the
Glenelg Football Club The Glenelg Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers or the Bays, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the South Australian National Football League. Their home ground is Stratarama Stadium (formerly Glenelg Oval), located in the so ...
in the
South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...
(SANFL); he attended Sacred Heart College. He received state honours by representing South Australia in the 2010 under 16 championships and he was their leading goalkicker with ten goals from three matches. He made his SANFL debut for Glenelg at seventeen years of age in the opening round match in
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
against the
Sturt Football Club The Sturt Football Club, nicknamed The Double Blues, is a semi-professional Australian rules football club based in the suburb of Unley, South Australia, which plays in the South Australian National Football League. Founded in 1901 by the Stur ...
at
Glenelg Oval Glenelg Oval (also known as Stratarama Stadium due to naming rights) is a sports venue located on Brighton Road, Glenelg East, South Australia. The ground is primarily used for Australian rules football and cricket and is the home ground for ...
. He played fifteen matches for Glenelg in his debut season, kicking twelve goals and he was named Glenelg's best player in round eight and twenty-two against Sturt and respectively. He was named as the round eight Star Search nominee, which "recognises the talented youngsters making their mark in league ranks", where he recorded twenty-six disposals, five marks and four goals. He received mid-year state honours through selection for South Australia in the 2011 AFL Under 18 Championships as a bottom-aged player and his performances in the championships saw him rewarded with being named in the All-Australian team in the
forward pocket In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the gro ...
. Throughout 2011, speculation arose as to whether Kennedy would be one of the two players selected in the 2011 mini-draft with the
Adelaide Football Club The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 199 ...
and
Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where it is nicknamed the ...
potentially bidding for him. Then Port Adelaide football operations manager, Peter Rohde praised his skills by indicating "there is no doubt he will be a good AFL player...he's an outstanding kick and clever around goal, and clearly we have an interest in him." AFL national talent manager,
Kevin Sheehan Kevin Vincent Sheehan OAM (born 1 August 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer for Geelong and the current Australian Football League (AFL) National Talent and International Manager, a member of the AFL football operations sub-committe ...
noted he is a "powerful small forward with a penetrating left foot. He is a goal kicker with pace and ability to compete well in the air for his size." He ultimately was not bid on for the 2011 mini-draft after the concession requested by was too high. He received a scholarship within the prestigious AIS-AFL Academy with their level two, thirty-one man squad for 2012. Returning to Glenelg in 2012, he managed four matches for the season after being affected by a groin injury at the start of the season. After recruiters noted they wanted to see him spend more time in the midfield, he spent the year in a dual on-ball, forward role. He was again selected for South Australia in the 2012 AFL Under 18 Championships where he had strong performances against Tasmania and Northern Territory, recording thirty-seven disposals and fours goals, and twenty-nine disposals and a goal respectively. He was named in the All-Australian side for the second consecutive season in the forward pocket. His two seasons in the under 18's with South Australia saw him named in the South Australian under 18 team of the decade 2007–2016 side in the forward pocket.


AFL career


2013–2015: Early career with Collingwood

After predictions Kennedy would be drafted inside the top twenty in the 2012 national draft, he was recruited by the
Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...
with their second selection and nineteenth overall. He played in the round two and round three matches in the 2013 NAB Cup against the
West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...
and
Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...
respectively, and he was named the third best player for Collingwood against Brisbane, where he recorded nineteen disposals, four marks and a goal. He started the 2013 season playing for the Collingwood reserves in the
Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFL) and he made his AFL debut in the twenty-six point win against the
St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fro ...
at
Etihad Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53,600, making it the 7t ...
in round six. He was the substitute for the match and he was brought into the game in the third quarter and recorded eight disposals from 33 percent game time. He finished the season with twelve games, and he was the substitute in six matches, he averaged 11.8 disposals and kicked nine goals with a season-best three goals in the
Queen's Birthday Clash King's (or Queen's) Birthday match may refer to * King's Birthday match (AFL), annual Australian rules football match on the King's Birthday public holiday * King's Birthday match (NRL), annual rugby league match held on the King's Birthday p ...
against the
Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...
in round eleven at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
. Kennedy had a small delay to the 2014 pre-season when he had surgery to relieve the symptoms of
compartment syndrome Compartment syndrome is a serious medical condition in which increased pressure within a Fascial compartment, body compartment compromises blood flow and tissue function, potentially leading to permanent damage if not promptly treated. There are ...
in his legs. He played in the opening match of the season against the
Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers or colloquially Freo, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represen ...
at Etihad Stadium where he was the substitute and he replaced Martin Clarke in the third quarter. He was omitted from the side the next week and despite strong performances in the VFL, he played only one senior match in the next fourteen weeks where he was the late replacement for the injured
Nick Maxwell Nicholas Maxwell (born 3 June 1983) is a former Australian rules football player and former captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Nick Maxwell was born in Geelong to parents Sue and Do ...
in the round seven, thirty-four point win against the
Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...
at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He returned to the senior side in the fifteen point win against Carlton in round fifteen as the substitute, again as a late replacement for an injured player, he played five of the remaining eight matches, and he finished the season with eight matches in total and he was the substitute in five of the matches. Kennedy struggled to gain senior selection in the first half of 2015 and his first senior match of the year was in the Queen's Birthday, twenty-five point win against Melbourne in round ten where he was the substitute. This prompted speculation in the middle of the year that he was on the outer and he may be traded at the end of the season to try and gain more senior selection. He managed five matches for the season and after twenty five matches in total for Collingwood in three seasons, he was traded to the Melbourne Football Club in October even though he was contracted to Collingwood until the end of 2016. He cited the opportunity for more senior games as the reason for his move to Melbourne.


2016–2017: Move to Melbourne

Kennedy played all three matches in the 2016 NAB Challenge for his new club and he was named in the best players in the first match against the
Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where it is nicknamed the ...
at
Elizabeth Oval Elizabeth Oval (also known as X Convenience Oval under naming rights) is an Australian rules football stadium located in Elizabeth, a suburb 24 km north of Adelaide, South Australia. Elizabeth Oval is the home ground of the Central Dist ...
, and his performances in the NAB Challenge saw ''AFL Media'' journalist, Travis King, predict he would play his first match for Melbourne in round one. He ultimately played the round one match against in a two-point win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He was praised for his match which was labelled as impressive, and he was named as Melbourne's second best player by ''AFL Media''. He played the first ten matches before being omitted for the match against the
Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawth ...
at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round eleven. He played in the VFL for Melbourne's affiliate team, the
Casey Scorpions The Casey Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East. The club, which was previously known as the Springvale Football Club (1903–2005) and the Casey Scorpions (2 ...
, where he recorded thirty disposals, ten tackles and three goals, and he was brought back into the senior side the next week for the Queen's Birthday match against Collingwood. He played the next five matches before being dropped for the round eighteen match against West Coast at Domain Stadium He played the remainder of the season for Casey and he played in the losing grand final against at
Etihad Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53,600, making it the 7t ...
. He played fifteen matches in his first season for Melbourne, which resulted in a twenty-first place finish in the
best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...
count. After not managing a senior game in
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, Kennedy was delisted by Melbourne.


Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2017 season'' , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, , , 27 , , 12 , , 9 , , 6 , , 66 , , 75 , , 141 , , 20 , , 20 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 5.5 , , 6.3 , , 11.8 , , 1.7 , , 1.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, , , 7 , , 8 , , 4 , , 2 , , 54 , , 44 , , 98 , , 11 , , 15 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 6.8 , , 5.5 , , 12.3 , , 1.4 , , 1.9 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
, , , 7 , , 5 , , 2 , , 2 , , 32 , , 23 , , 55 , , 9 , , 11 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 6.4 , , 4.6 , , 11.0 , , 1.8 , , 2.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, , , 35 , , 15 , , 13 , , 6 , , 128 , , 131 , , 259 , , 47 , , 39 , , 0.9 , , 0.4 , , 8.5 , , 8.7 , , 17.2 , , 3.1 , , 2.6 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, , , 35 , , 0 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 40 ! 28 ! 16 ! 280 ! 273 ! 553 ! 87 ! 85 ! 0.7 ! 0.4 ! 7.0 ! 6.8 ! 13.8 ! 2.2 ! 2.1


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Ben Living people 1994 births Collingwood Football Club players Melbourne Football Club players Glenelg Football Club players Brighton Districts and Old Scholars Football Club players Casey Demons players Williamstown Football Club players Australian rules footballers from South Australia People educated at Sacred Heart College (Adelaide) 21st-century Australian sportsmen