Joshua P. Kennedy (born 20 June 1988) is a former

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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). He previously played for the Hawthorn Football Club. The son and grandson of former Hawthorn players, Kennedy was originally recruited to Hawthorn in the 2006 national draft under the father–son 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 The Bob Skilton Medal is an annual Australian rules football award presented to the player(s) adjudged the best and fairest at the Sydney Swans (formerly the South Melbourne Football Club) throughout the Victorian Football League/Australian Footb ...

three times as the club's

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 ...

(

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 gather ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

) and also played in a premiership in 2012. Kennedy has been named in the All-Australian team 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 The 2017 Brownlow Medal was the 90th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home and away season. Dustin Martin of the Richmond Football Club won the medal wi ...

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. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American lawyer, journalist, and magazine publisher. He was a son of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kenn ...

, a former Hawthorn player, and the grandson of John Kennedy Sr., an

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

member. He graduated from Xavier College in Kew, Victoria 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 Hawthorn Football Club 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 Ben McGlynn (born 6 August 1985) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club and Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League. He is currently an assistant coach at the St Kilda Football ...

, 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

. 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

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 and runner-up

Shane Mumford Shane Mumford (born 5 July 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who most recently played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has also previously played for the Geelong Football ...

. 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 in the Bob Skilton Medal (behind winner Adam Goodes). 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 All-Australian team selection. Kennedy won the Brett Kirk Medal in round one. Kennedy polled in equal eighth place in the Brownlow Medal, 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 (705) and 3rd Ryan O'Keefe (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 Kieren Jack and Jarrad McVeigh. He finished third in the

, polling more votes than any other Sydney player. On 25 June 2020, Kennedy played his 250th AFL game against the Western Bulldogs at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

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

Statistics

''Updated to the end of round 23, 2022.'' , - ,

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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 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , , , 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 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , , , 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 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , , , 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 ,

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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 fact ...

, , , , 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 , - ,

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, , , , 12 , 24 , , 15 , , 23 , , 308 , , 423 , , 731 , , 74 , , 149 , , 0.6 , , 1.0 , , 12.8 , , 17.6 , , 30.5 , , 3.1 , , 6.2 , , 25 , - ,

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, , , , 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 United ...

, , , , 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 ...

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2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

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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 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, , , , 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; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, , , , 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× All-Australian team:

* 3×

: 2012, 2015, 2016 * Sydney captain: 2017–2021 * Brett Kirk Medal: 2012 (round 1) *

Peter Badcoe VC Medal Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

: 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 Felice Angelo "Felix" Russo (10 June 1926 – 15 February 2005) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He had a son, father-in-law, two sons-in-law and three grandchildren who have al ...

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. 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 Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

. In 2019, Calle gave birth to their second child, a girl. He has completed commerce studies at

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

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