Joshua P. Kennedy (born 20 June 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for 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 Hawt ...

. The son and grandson of former Hawthorn players, Kennedy was originally recruited to Hawthorn in the 2006 national draft under the

father–son rule The father–son rule is a rule that allows clubs preferential recruiting access to the sons of players who have made a major past contribution to the club in Australian rules football, most notably in the Australian Football League. The rule ...

. He debuted for the club during the 2008 season, but was traded to Sydney prior to the 2010 season, having played 13 games for Hawthorn. An inside midfielder, Kennedy became a star player for Sydney. He has won the Bob Skilton Medal three times as the club's best and fairest (

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, 2015,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

) and also played in a premiership in 2012. Kennedy has been named in the

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of 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-performed players during the season, led b ...

on three occasions (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

) in addition to finishing third in the

and 2017 Brownlow Medal counts. He was the captain of Sydney since the 2017 season, until Kennedy stepped down from the role in February 2022.

Early years

Kennedy is the son of John Kennedy Jr., a former Hawthorn player, and the grandson of John Kennedy Sr., an Australian Football Hall of Fame member. He graduated from

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. ...

Kew, Victoria Kew (;) is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km east from Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Kew recorded a population of 24,499 at the 2021 census. A city ...

in 2006, having also played for the Ashburton Junior Football Club as a youngster.

AFL career

Hawthorn (2008–2009)

In mid-2006 it was announced that he would be recruited in the

2006 AFL Draft The 2006 AFL draft is a recent national draft of the Australian Football League. The AFL draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Foot ...

by the

for the 2007 season, under the father-son rule. Kennedy made his debut for the club in round nine of the 2008 season. He played 2 further games in his debut season, and 10 the following season, but was traded to Sydney at the end of the 2009 season, along with Ben McGlynn, with Hawthorn receiving draft picks 39, 46, and 70 in exchange.

Sydney (2010–present)

In late 2009, Kennedy was offered a three-year deal by the Sydney Swans. Kennedy accepted the offer, as the Swans' offered him more opportunities to play senior football than Hawthorn, who had many players similar to Kennedy. He was traded to the Swans along with teammate Ben McGlynn for 2009 AFL Draft picks 39, 46 and 70. Kennedy capped a fantastic year by finishing 3rd in the Sydney Swans Best & Fairest, behind winner

Kieren Jack Kieren Jack (born 28 June 1987) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the co-captain of the Sydney Swans, alongside Jarrad McVeigh from 2013 to 2016. Early life ...

and runner-up Shane Mumford. Kennedy was also awarded the Paul Roos Award for best player in the finals series. Kennedy followed up his outstanding debut year in Sydney with another very consistent season in 2011. Despite a relatively slow start, Kennedy hit top form in the 2nd half of the year to finish equal 2nd with

Rhyce Shaw Rhyce Shaw (born 16 October 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the former senior coach of the North Melbourne ...

in the Bob Skilton Medal (behind winner

Adam Goodes Adam Roy Goodes (born 8 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Goodes holds an elite place in VFL/AFL history as a dual Brownlow Medallist, d ...

). Kennedy further enhanced his growing reputation around the league with 2 more outstanding performances in the Swans' finals games against St.Kilda and Hawthorn. Kennedy had his most consistent year in 2012 earning himself his first

selection. Kennedy won the Brett Kirk Medal in round one. Kennedy polled in equal eighth place in the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by t ...

, with 19 votes - the most of any Sydney player. He played in Sydney's Grand Final winning team, where he had 26 disposals and kicked two goals. He also won the Sydney Best & Fairest (Bob Skilton Medal) with (877) votes to win by a massive 172 votes from 2nd

Ted Richards Ted Richards (born 11 January 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). AFL career Richards was recruited from Xavier Col ...

(705) and 3rd

Ryan O'Keefe Ryan O'Keefe (born 24 January 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL), and was part of the Swans' 2005 and 2012 premiership-winning sides. O'Keefe was a membe ...

(701), managing to consistently poll votes in each round. Kennedy's 2015 season was rewarded with his second Bob Skilton Medal. He won the best and fairest for the second consecutive year in 2016. In 2016, Kennedy won his 3rd All-Australian selection, 3rd Bob Skilton Medal and was awarded the inaugural Gary Ayres Award for best player in the 2016 finals series. On 9 December 2016, Kennedy was named the new captain of the club, taking over from previous co-captains

and

Jarrad McVeigh Jarrad McVeigh (born 7 April 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the younger brother of former Essendon midfielder Mark McVeigh. He was co-captain of the ...

. He finished third in the 2017 Brownlow Medal, polling more votes than any other Sydney player. On 25 June 2020, Kennedy played his 250th AFL game against the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

at the Sydney Cricket Ground; his grandfather John Kennedy Sr. died on the morning of the game, aged 91.

Statistics

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2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , , , 36 , 3 , , 0 , , 0 , , 17 , , 24 , , 41 , , 12 , , 13 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 5.7 , , 8.0 , , 13.7 , , 4.0 , , 4.3 , , 0 , - , 2009 , , , , 32 , 10 , , 4 , , 5 , , 65 , , 129 , , 194 , , 31 , , 42 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 6.5 , , 12.9 , , 19.4 , , 3.1 , , 4.2 , , 0 , - , 2010 , , , , 12 , 24 , , 10 , , 10 , , 210 , , 272 , , 482 , , 70 , , 107 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 8.8 , , 11.3 , , 20.1 , , 2.9 , , 4.5 , , 0 , - , 2011 , , , , 12 , 24 , , 10 , , 19 , , 272 , , 256 , , 528 , , 54 , , 135 , , 0.4 , , 0.8 , , 11.3 , , 10.7 , , 22.0 , , 2.3 , , 5.6 , , 3 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

^# , , , , 12 , 25 , , 29 , , 13 , , 307 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF, 401^† , , 708 , , 73 , , 125 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 12.3 , , 16.0 , , 28.3 , , 2.9 , , 5.0 , , 19 , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, , , , 12 , 25 , , 14 , , 16 , , 257 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 421^† , , 678 , , 42 , , 123 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 10.3 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 16.8^† , , 27.1 , , 1.7 , , 4.9 , , 14 , - ,

, , , , 12 , 23 , , 13 , , 20 , , 272 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 385^† , , 657 , , 75 , , 132 , , 0.6 , , 0.9 , , 11.8 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 16.7^† , , 28.6 , , 3.3 , , 5.7 , , 21 , - , 2015 , , , , 12 , 24 , , 15 , , 23 , , 308 , , 423 , , 731 , , 74 , , 149 , , 0.6 , , 1.0 , , 12.8 , , 17.6 , , 30.5 , , 3.1 , , 6.2 , , 25 , - ,

, , , , 12 , 25 , , 20 , , 9 , , 315 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 472^† , , 787 , , 67 , , 139 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 12.6 , , 18.9 , , 31.5 , , 2.7 , , 5.6 , , 14 , - ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, , , , 12 , 21 , , 16 , , 6 , , 248 , , 344 , , 592 , , 52 , , 103 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 11.8 , , 16.4 , , 28.2 , , 2.5 , , 4.9 , , 23 , - ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, , , , 12 , 23 , , 10 , , 12 , , 250 , , 334 , , 584 , , 55 , , 113 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 10.9 , , 14.5 , , 25.4 , , 2.4 , , 4.9 , , 6 , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , , , 12 , 19 , , 7 , , 9 , , 233 , , 271 , , 504 , , 52 , , 126 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 12.3 , , 14.3 , , 26.5 , , 2.7 , , 6.6 , , 9 , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, , , , 12 , 12 , , 3 , , 3 , , 129 , , 119 , , 248 , , 34 , , 62 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 10.8 , , 9.9 , , 20.7 , , 2.8 , , 5.2 , , 4 , - ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, , , , 12 , 21 , , 4 , , 6 , , 220 , , 285 , , 505 , , 76 , , 100 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 10.5 , , 13.6 , , 24.0 , , 3.6 , , 4.8 , , 8 , - ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, , , , 12 , 11 , , 2 , , 0 , , 66 , , 67 , , 133 , , 30 , , 19 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 6.0 , , 6.1 , , 12.1 , , 2.7 , , 1.7 , , , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 290 !! 157 !! 151 !! 3169 !! 4203 !! 7372 !! 797 !! 1488 !! 0.5 !! 0.5 !! 10.9 !! 14.5 !! 25.4 !! 2.7 !! 5.1 !! 146 Notes

Honours and achievements

Sydney * AFL premiership player:

* 2× Minor premiership:

Individual * 3×

* 3× Bob Skilton Medal: 2012, 2015, 2016 * Sydney captain: 2017–2021 *

Brett Kirk Medal The Sydney Derby, also known as The Battle of the Bridge is an Australian rules football local derby match between the two Sydney based Australian Football League (AFL) clubs, the Sydney Swans and the Greater Western Sydney Giants. As of Round ...

: 2012 (round 1) * Peter Badcoe VC Medal: 2012 (round 3) * Gary Ayres Award:

* Box Hill Hawks All-Stars team (1999–2019)

Personal life

Kennedy's paternal grandmother has Italian heritage and referred to his late grandfather John Kennedy Sr. as Nonno. His mother Bernadette also has an Italian background. Through his mother, Kennedy is the grandson of former St Kilda footballer Felix Russo and nephew of former Hawthorn and St Kilda footballer

Peter Russo Peter Russo (born 29 October 1959) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1980s. After a 1988 season where he played only eight senior games, Russo, alongside Paul ...

. Kennedy is the first cousin of former St Kilda and Collingwood footballer

Luke Ball Luke Patrick Ball (born 25 May 1984) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the and football clubs in the Australian Football League. From 2003 to 2009 he played 142 games for the St Kilda Football Club whe ...

. In January 2012, Kennedy started dating Colombian native Ana Calle, who is four years his senior. In 2015, Calle gave birth to their first child, a boy. In November 2015, the couple married in Calle's hometown of Medellín. In 2019, Calle gave birth to their second child, a girl. He has completed commerce studies at Sydney University.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Josh 1988 births Living people Hawthorn Football Club players Sydney Swans players Box Hill Football Club players Sydney Swans Premiership players People educated at Xavier College Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Sandringham Dragons players All-Australians (AFL) Bob Skilton Medal winners Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Italian descent Sportspeople of Italian descent One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players