Josh Kennedy

Senior career In 2006, Kennedy showed promises that he could be a future key-position forward, having made his debut in Round 6. However, he struggled for ground time and form when playing at AFL level, scoring only 5.4 from his nine games. In Carlton's , the Northern Bullants, he found it easier to show his skills with eighteen goals for the season.

In 2007, Kennedy committed to a new two-year contract with the Carlton Football Club. However, on 11 October, it was announced that he had agreed to instead return to his native state and play for the West Coast Eagles, thus enabling Carlton to secure the services of top midfielder Chris Judd in a trade.

On 26 April 2008, Kennedy, wearing number 17, made his debut for the Eagles.

In Round 9, 2011, Kennedy kicked ten goals against the Western Bulldogs, becoming just the fourth Eagle (after Scott Cummings, Peter Sumich and Mark LeCras) to kick ten goals in a game.

After playing in struggling teams at the start of his career—four of Kennedy's first six seasons resulted in bottom two finishes, including two wooden spoons, one each at Carlton and West Coast, respectively—Kennedy made his first finals appearance in 2011. Kennedy won only 14 of the first 67 matches of his career. However his record has since improved; as of the end of 2012, he has won 23 of his last 32 matches to have a career win-draw-loss record of 37–1–61.

In the 2013 AFL season, Kennedy was in front of the Coleman Medal nearly every week. But with the Eagles losing their last three games by an average margin of 71 points and Kennedy being goalless in each of them, he lost his chance of winning the medal.

On 30 March 2014, Kennedy played his 100th game for the Eagles, kicking four goals and one behind in a 93-point thrashing of Melbourne at the MCG. In Round 8, 2014, Kennedy bagged 11 goals straight in a 111-point win over the Giants. He would then go on to kick bags of 7 and 8 both against the Suns. He finished the year with 61 goals. After Darren Glass retired midway through the season, Kennedy was named acting co-captain of the club for the remainder of 2014, along with four other players.

On 10 April 2015, Kennedy kicked ten goals again against Carlton. It was the third time that he brought up the double figures, kicking 6 of his 10 goals in the third quarter. His tenth goal for the night was also his 300th for his career. At the end of the home-and-away season, Kennedy finished with 75 goals and became the second West Coast player to win the Coleman Medal.

On 21 May 2016, after kicking 5 goals in the previous match, Kennedy bagged seven goals against Port Adelaide to bring his career tally to 400 goals. He went on to secure back-to-back Coleman Medals in the same year, scoring a total of 82 goals.

Kennedy kicked his 500th career goal in Round 20 of the 2017 AFL season. He then kicked his 500th goal for West Coast two weeks later in Round 22, becoming only the second player in club history to do so (after Peter Sumich).

On 29 April 2018, Kennedy became West Coast's all-time leading goalkicker, overtaking Sumich with his 515th goal for the Eagles during the Western Derby. Kennedy scored three goals in West Coast's 2018 premiership win.

In July 2022, Kennedy kicked his 700th goal for West Coast against Carlton, and a month later he announced his retirement from the AFL.

Kennedy decided to make his final game a home game in the Round 21 match against Adelaide on Sunday, 7 August 2022. Despite Adelaide winning by 16 points, Kennedy recorded an 8-goal haul and was chaired off to a standing ovation and a guard of honour by both teams. In a gesture of appreciation, Kennedy personally shook the hands of the entire Adelaide team, including their entire on-field support staff.

Statistics Statistics are correct to the end of the 2022 season

293 723 393 2356 813 3169 1612 620 2.5 1.3 8.0 2.8 10.8 5.5 2.1 90

Honours and achievements AFL

1× AFL Premiership Player: 2018 2× Coleman Medallist: 2015, 2016 3× All-Australian: 2015 (vc), 2016, 2017 (vc) 2× All-Australian 40-man Squad: 2011, 2013 Carlton Pre-Season Premiership Side: 2007

West Coast Eagles

8× West Coast leading goalkicker: 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 Vice-captain: 2014–2021 Chris Mainwaring Medallist: 2015 3× Glendinning–Allan Medallist: 2016 (round 20), 2017 (round 6), 2020 (round 7) Eagles in the Community Award: 2016 Life Membership: 2016

Personal life Kennedy married long-time girlfriend Lauren Atkinson, an artist, in October 2016. They had previously been together since 2008 and have two daughters. Kennedy also has two siblings, an older brother Scott and sister Melissa.