josh kennedy rd2 2009 against the swans

[Auntie.Gerald]

boy oh boy he looked ordinary in the first qtr......fumbled the ball twice, kicked out on the full, did a dodgy left foot and the Hawks were leading 32-10 until the Swans hit back with two minutes to go.......

Hi skill level is pretty ordinary

he is very direct at the ball and I would say he is similar to Bevan when it come to a comparison.............in my opinion he will be in the Backs if he is lucky with his height an advantage otherwise if he was 184cm or below we probably would have picked him up .

[Jeffers1984]

He did look patchy in that game but he certainly knows how to get the ball.

Apparently he really improved towards the end of the season when he settled down a bit.

I have little doubt that once he gets established in our midfield that we will have a clearance king

[BSA5]

The guy won't be in defence. He's a clearance player, through and through. He is a ball magnet, and his skills, while nothing special, are perfectly fine (every player has bad games every now and then). He's basically a slightly taller Craig Bird.

Basically, to say he'll be lucky to win a spot in defence is ludicrous.

[Auntie.Gerald]

im happy we added depth but the guy is head down and not much skill at all.......he isnt what I would call a ball magnet.......Judd is ball magnet

Bevan is ahead of him by quite a bit and I dont rate Bevan as much of a footballer........I like Bevans tenacity but two of three of him in the 22 and there is not a chance in hell of coming top8

[BSA5]

im happy we added depth but the guy is head down and not much skill at all.......he isnt what I would call a ball magnet.......Judd is ball magnet

Bevan is ahead of him by quite a bit and I dont rate Bevan as much of a footballer........I like Bevans tenacity but two of three of him in the 22 and there is not a chance in hell of coming top8

You're clearly basing your opinion on one game. Bevan is a small utility. He's not a genuine midfielder. Kennedy is. He's a clearance-winner. That's his speciality. He is tailor made for playing in the guts. It's his biggest strength, and his weaker points like his speed aren't as exposed.

He isn't a Bevo type at all. The comparison is quite ridiculous.

[Auntie.Gerald]

I suppose we can go round in circles on finding him a comparison on who he is similar too in skill, dexterity, tenacity etc

I can not think of one decent mid fielder in the comp that he should be compared against........not one......that is if you consider him as a midfielder......he even referenced himself to most likely playing off the HB or HF line when interviewed........so even he see's himself as not an out right starting midfielder just a scrapper from the bench getting his hands on the ball when on the ground yet he cant do anything with it after that......

he got dropped after the round 2 game in a season where the Hawks had 4 or 5 injured players out almost every other week.

Then he doesnt get a run again till round 14 and rd 15 ..........ordinary again

just because we traded him and took on for 3 years it doenst mean that he wasnt cheap as chips and the best of a bad lot when we needed some depth

Mcglynn is a lot more of a footballer in the games I watched him play ie against NM Kanga's 20 something disposals vs someting like less than 15 by JPK !...........the ball magnet !!!!

[The Big Cat]

.I like Bevans tenacity

If you like his tenacity then we should pick up Kane Tenace-ity in the PSD.

[BSA5]

I suppose we can go round in circles on finding him a comparison on who he is similar too in skill, dexterity, tenacity etc

I can not think of one decent mid fielder in the comp that he should be compared against........not one......that is if you consider him as a midfielder......he even referenced himself to most likely playing off the HB or HF line when interviewed........so even he see's himself as not an out right starting midfielder just a scrapper from the bench getting his hands on the ball when on the ground yet he cant do anything with it after that......

he got dropped after the round 2 game in a season where the Hawks had 4 or 5 injured players out almost every other week.

Then he doesnt get a run again till round 14 and rd 15 ..........ordinary again

just because we traded him and took on for 3 years it doenst mean that he wasnt cheap as chips and the best of a bad lot when we needed some depth

Mcglynn is a lot more of a footballer in the games I watched him play ie against NM Kanga's 20 something disposals vs someting like less than 15 by JPK !...........the ball magnet !!!!

This year, Kennedy averaged 19.4 disposals, 4.2 tackles and numerous clearances (I can't find the stats any more, they used to be on the Hawks site before he was traded). This was his second year, on limited game time. Compare that to Bevan, who had a career high disposal average this year of just 14.2 disposals. Why? Because Bevan is a DEFENDER.

Kennedy is likely to play off a flank as a "pseudo-midfielder", with short stints in the middle as part of the midfield rotations. This is exactly what Bird has done for the last 2 years, and is a common way of introducing genuine midfielders of the future into the midfield fold.

Decent midfielders I would compare Kennedy to (in terms of role and potential, not current playing ability, because he's still very young): Brad Sewell (when he's not tagging), Sam Mitchell, Jobe Watson, Ryan O'Keefe, Matthew Boyd, Lenny Hayes, Andrew Swallow.

Seriously, you're absolutely failing this argument. It's clear you haven't watched him much, if at all, and if you have, then you have no idea about the development of midfielders.

[Tuhob]

stats can be found here:

http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/p...osh-p--kennedy

For comparison:

Ben McGlynn

Paul Bevan

[Auntie.Gerald]

maybe...........its clear as crystal..........you see him evolving as dominant as a Lenny Hayes ........I see that he has the skills of Bevan

you call him a midfielder...........I just dont want to see him around the ruck !!

I have watched him play 4 games of his approx 10 or so in 2009??

[BSA5]

maybe...........its clear as crystal..........you see him evolving as dominant as a Lenny Hayes ........I see that he has the skills of Bevan

you call him a midfielder...........I just dont want to see him around the ruck !!

I have watched him play 4 games of his approx 10 or so in 2009??

I don't "see him evolving as dominant as Lenny Hayes". You can be an X-type player without being as good as X is.

Seriously, why the hell wouldn't you want him around the ruck? It's his best area. He averaged 3.3 clearances per game with very limited game time in the middle due to having to compete for time with the likes of Mitchell and Sewell. His disposal also isn't nearly as bad as you seem to think it is. Discounting FAs, which aren't a reflection of disposal skills but still count towards the clanger count, he averaged 1.2 clangers per game, with 74% disposal efficiency. Let's compare that with some other players: Ryan O'Keefe averaged 1.7 disposal clangers per game, also at 74% DE. Adam Goodes had 1.8 disposal clangers per game, at 67% DE.

You have a preconceived notion about Kennedy which is just plain wrong. He might not develop into a star, or even a serviceable player. There's no guarantee with any player. However, he has barely put a foot wrong so far, and there is little reason to be worried.

You have clearly shown you know nothing about him by saying he should play a Bevan role. He simply is not that sort of player. He is a ballwinner, a pure inside player, he gets his hand on the pill first and dishes off to the outside players. These players aren't pretty, but they're the bread and butter of any decent side.

[Legs Akimbo]

I suppose we can go round in circles on finding him a comparison on who he is similar too in skill, dexterity, tenacity etc

I can not think of one decent mid fielder in the comp that he should be compared against........not one......that is if you consider him as a midfielder......he even referenced himself to most likely playing off the HB or HF line when interviewed........so even he see's himself as not an out right starting midfielder just a scrapper from the bench getting his hands on the ball when on the ground yet he cant do anything with it after that......

he got dropped after the round 2 game in a season where the Hawks had 4 or 5 injured players out almost every other week.

Then he doesnt get a run again till round 14 and rd 15 ..........ordinary again

just because we traded him and took on for 3 years it doenst mean that he wasnt cheap as chips and the best of a bad lot when we needed some depth

Mcglynn is a lot more of a footballer in the games I watched him play ie against NM Kanga's 20 something disposals vs someting like less than 15 by JPK !...........the ball magnet !!!!

Most the Hawthorn fraternity over at BF disagree with you about this.

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=642773

I suspect they have watched a few more games than you.

I get the sense with Kennedy that he has felt the weight of expectation upon his shoulders. The famous handpass to Buddy that lost the Hanks a game was unfortunate because he played very very well that day.

Bird and Kennedy will be a powerful duo at the stoppages in a few years. With potentially elite ball users like Hanneberry, Meredith and Vez on the outside, will be fun to watch.

Let's touch base a the end of next year.