Clement Michael Kennedy (25 November 1921 – 17 December 2010) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played first grade Australian club football for the South Sydney club along with a brief stint for Newtown. Kennedy also played for both the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

representative sides and served Australia during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

seeing action in the

Kokoda Track campaign The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua. It was primar ...

Background

He was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, New South Wales, Australia.

Rugby league career

Kennedy signed for South Sydney for the start of the 1939

New South Wales Rugby League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

where he quickly cemented his place in the sides starting thirteen and became known as 'The Mighty Atom' or 'The Little Bully' because of his small stature, rough play and ability. He served during the

from 1941 to 1944 before returning to the Rabbitohs where his performances earned him a call up to the

side in late 1945 and the following year earned his debut cap for the Australian side even though his club failed to earn a victory in the entire season; further international honors eluded him however due to a string of injuries. Kennedy later moved to the country where he would go on to play for Cessnock where his performances would warrant him selection in the Country side in 1947. He would move back to

and play a season for Newtown before again heading back to the country and finishing his career with Grenfell.

Second World War

While playing rugby league for South Sydney Kennedy was called up for active duty in 1941 for the

where he also served on the

for several months. During his service on the

Kokoda Track The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japane ...

he contracted a bout of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

and then later suffered several shoulder injuries that would hamper his return to rugby league at the conclusion of the war.

References

Books

References

External links

South Sydney Clem Kennedy profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Clem 1921 births 2010 deaths Australian rugby league players Newtown Jets players Australia national rugby league team players Australian Army soldiers Australian Army personnel of World War II New South Wales rugby league team players Country New South Wales rugby league team players City New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs captains South Sydney Rabbitohs players 20th-century Australian sportsmen