Josh Kennedy is a legendary finals performer.

La Vache

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Thread starter #1
44 disposals tonight and utterly dominant. Got rocked by an elbow last week and recovered to be swans best player. Stood up in '14 gf when they got flogged. Excellent in '12 when they won. Abused the freo midfield last year to no avail.

17 finals and averages over 30 disposals a match. And he doesn't just accumulate at this time of year, he brutalises you.

For mine Kennedy is clearly one of the best finals midfielders of the modern era. Better than some much more heralded legends like voss, Judd, Buckley, Bartel, hodge, black, Vag, McLeod and Hayes.

I don't reckon he has played a bad one. Am I over the top here or does he get glossed over a bit?
 
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Damon_3388

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#10
Kennedy's averages over his last 120 games (start of 2012-present) - 29.18 disposals per game (56.81% contested), 7.38 clearances per game, 5.45 tackles per game, 4.11 inside 50s per game, 0.73 goals per game, 0.63 goal assists per game, and a Champion Data Player Ranking Score average of 113.40. An absolute machine who should be widely praised as one of the very best in the game now and one of the best of his era.

An interesting comparison is Chris Judd at the same ages (24-28 years old, 2007-2011) - 107 games, 25.48 disposals per game (49.71% contested), 5.72 clearances per game, 4.64 tackles per game, 4.93 inside 50s per game, 0.70 goals per game, 1.04 goal assists per game, and a Champion Data Player Ranking Score average of 111.16. Sure, Judd was stronger from a creativity standpoint, but Kennedy has him clearly beaten in the contested stuff, and overall doesn't receive 1/20th of the plaudits Judd did during the same period of their careers.

Would have also been interesting to see how Kennedy's career would have panned out at Hawthorn. Obviously they've had success without him, but his type is exactly what they've lacked over the time he's been gone too.
 
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#14
Obviously bias cause I'm a swans supporter but I agree, never had a down final, is an absolute superstar who doesn't get the recognition he deserves, would be any teams best midfielder
I don't see a massive amount of Swans games but every time I watch him play I can't help feel he might be the most influential player in the game. As you say probably deserves more recognition.
 

blitzer

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#15
I rated him highly enough to put money on him for most possessions this finals series. If Swans make it through to GF he's nearly a lock.
 

the dog's kennel

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#18
In my opinion he has been the most under-rated player in the comp for ages.

Has legitimately been in the top few players in the game for 5 years, as far as I'm concerned - I'd easily pick him above Selwood or Hodge. But he doesn't do flashy things so people treat him like he's just another solid accumulator.
 

Teen Wolf

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#22
This man would risk his life to storm the deepest circle of hell itself for a grasp of the Sherrin, and then he'd handball it to Dan Hannebery. That's a pedantic criticism, but also a natural one if we're going to compare him with some of the game's cleverest play-makers and most precise disposal-dealers in the last 20 years.

From a pure Patches O'Houlihan educational celluloid perspective, you might as well go ahead and use Kennedy as the go-to source for how it's done. Competitive, consistent, collaborative, clutch and... competitive. But to encapsulate all the wonderment and thrillingness of what football is and what football could be, I'd sooner preserve footage of Paul Kelly.
 

And_ROOS

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#25
He is a legend and gets far less credit than he deserves.

Ablett and Dangerfield are prime examples. Great players, but over-hyped up because they play(ed) for Geelong rather than Sydney.
Nathan I assume? Surely not either of the Garys. Utter madness if you think Snr or Jnr are "over hyped" both were legitimate superstars and won games off their own boots.
 
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