Kennedy had already earned plaudits for his tough approach to the game before last season, but in 2012 he went to a new level. 

The AFL’s top-ranked player for clearances and contested possessions, he capped a stunning season with his first All-Australian selection, a club best and fairest and a premiership medallion. 

Determined to add more goalkicking to his game, he managed 29 for the year, including two in the Grand Final. 

Yet to miss a game in three years as a Swan, Kennedy has added a new dimension to Sydney’s midfield.

Previous AFL club: (Hawthorn 2008-09: 13 games, 1 goal).

Draft history: 2006 NAB AFL Draft 3rd round father-son selection (Hawthorn) No. 40 overall; 2009 NAB AFL Draft traded by Hawthorn for No. 39 (Sam Grimley).

2013 Coaches Call

2012 was an outstanding year for Josh. He was one of the guys who was really good with setting up the structures and Joey’s leadership also went to another level in 2012. He was really confident in his own ability and now he understands the way we want to play and he’s really starting to show some signs of real leadership as well as having a really good year personally.

Pre-season has been a bit interrupted. He started a little bit behind everyone else and after a little bit of extra rest, when he came back he was a bit sore. He’s now back into full training and is doing extras. He was a little bit slow to start with but he’s back up to speed now.

We hope in 2013 that he can keep doing what he does best, which is winning the contested ball and setting up our runners. He also kicked a lot of goals for us last year, so we also want to make sure that he has that good balance between attack and defence.