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Perhaps the Hawks were always going to take Xavier Ellis at No. 3, and they were never going to tell me anyway (wise decision). But I have often looked at Kennedy and thought that I played a large part in him not being at the Hawthorn Football Club. The reason for that was my synopsis. A brief version follows.
You have to remember that, at the time, we were talking about a 17-year-old kid.
Positives:
EXCELLENT size. He doesn't get pushed aside when the ball is in the area and in dispute.
WONDERFUL endurance for a big athlete.
HE WILL naturally lead at the ball carrier.
HE DISPLAYS an appetite for a big workload and will dedicate himself to his teammates.
But ultimately the question was whether he was worth the No. 3 selection, and my answer was no. Josh's negatives were:
THE young Kennedy doesn't use his extra height (195cm) to advantage.
THREE of every four possessions he gathered in the DVD footage I viewed were lead-up chest marks won with endurance, but still under the height of his eye-line.
HE TOOK a couple of overhead marks when he outran his direct opponent and he was able to jump over the top of an opposition player. But the ball was dropping steeply without much heat on it.
HE HELD on to no marks that came in hard and flat and forced him to mark over his head when running straight at the footy.
HE DISPLAYED no real evasive ability other than to outrun his opponent because of superior fitness in his age group.
FOR a player whose game is based around leading, he grasses a lot of accurately directed kicks to his chest. The reason could be "hard hands" or poor technique.
Click here to see Dermie's complete analysis of Watts, Naitanui and Rich.
Overall, he appears to be a ripping young kid with an insatiable appetite for work. Would I like him at my club? Yes, but only with a pick somewhere closer to selection No. 10 or later.
That may seem harsh. But if Melbourne wants to be responsible to its members, it must also be brutally honest.
It is no slight on Kennedy. Carlton, which was forced to let him go to West Coast as part of the Chris Judd deal, would love him back.
But it still must be said that in the 2005 draft, there were five players chosen in the 10 selections after Kennedy who have gone past him: Scott Pendlebury, Paddy Ryder, Grant Birchall, Nathan Jones and Shannon Hurn. You could mount an argument for Shaun Higgins also
You have to remember that, at the time, we were talking about a 17-year-old kid.
Positives:
EXCELLENT size. He doesn't get pushed aside when the ball is in the area and in dispute.
WONDERFUL endurance for a big athlete.
HE WILL naturally lead at the ball carrier.
HE DISPLAYS an appetite for a big workload and will dedicate himself to his teammates.
But ultimately the question was whether he was worth the No. 3 selection, and my answer was no. Josh's negatives were:
THE young Kennedy doesn't use his extra height (195cm) to advantage.
THREE of every four possessions he gathered in the DVD footage I viewed were lead-up chest marks won with endurance, but still under the height of his eye-line.
HE TOOK a couple of overhead marks when he outran his direct opponent and he was able to jump over the top of an opposition player. But the ball was dropping steeply without much heat on it.
HE HELD on to no marks that came in hard and flat and forced him to mark over his head when running straight at the footy.
HE DISPLAYED no real evasive ability other than to outrun his opponent because of superior fitness in his age group.
FOR a player whose game is based around leading, he grasses a lot of accurately directed kicks to his chest. The reason could be "hard hands" or poor technique.
Click here to see Dermie's complete analysis of Watts, Naitanui and Rich.
Overall, he appears to be a ripping young kid with an insatiable appetite for work. Would I like him at my club? Yes, but only with a pick somewhere closer to selection No. 10 or later.
That may seem harsh. But if Melbourne wants to be responsible to its members, it must also be brutally honest.
It is no slight on Kennedy. Carlton, which was forced to let him go to West Coast as part of the Chris Judd deal, would love him back.
But it still must be said that in the 2005 draft, there were five players chosen in the 10 selections after Kennedy who have gone past him: Scott Pendlebury, Paddy Ryder, Grant Birchall, Nathan Jones and Shannon Hurn. You could mount an argument for Shaun Higgins also

