- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
No two teams have had more pride in a team-first attitude than Hawthorn and West Coast throughout 2015.
If one player goes out, another comes in. It doesn’t matter who that player is as long as he plays his role.
It’s why, from day one of the season, the Eagles have been able to play electric football without two of their key defenders in Eric MacKenzie and Mitch Brown.
And it’s why the Hawks have barely blinked without Jack Gunston over the past two weeks, despite the mid-sized forward being their leading goal kicker this year.
It’s a testament to Alastair Clarkson and his once-student Adam Simpson, who will claim the bragging rights of master, not apprentice, if the Eagles win.
But despite their holistic, team-oriented philosophies, both clubs have players that are capable of turning the game off their own boot – none more so than the 2015 Coleman Medalist, Josh Kennedy.
Kennedy has not only been the best forward of the season, but arguably the best player of the finals series.
In the second term of the qualifying final against Hawthorn, Kennedy marked and goaled three times to give the Eagles a 32-point lead at halftime. That lead was ultimately the winning margin. Kennedy’s dominance in that second quarter therefore cannot be understated.
Indeed, the 196cm forward’s athleticism and aerobic capacity – which allowed him to run up to the wings on numerous occasions – exposed Brian Lake and raised questions of how compatible Lake and James Frawley were together in the Hawks’ back six.
It’s a question mark which will continue to linger until the final teams are announced on Thursday afternoon.
But there are no question marks over Kennedy. In the Eagles’ preliminary final win over the Kangaroos, he was again the player to stand up and stamp his authority on the game in the second quarter, after West Coast had failed to kick a major in the opening term.
Kennedy amassed six possessions, took three marks, and kicked two goals to narrow the Kangaroos’ lead to a single-digit figure at halftime.
In a grand final, wins and losses invariably boil down to moments: Matthew Scarlett’s creative toe-poke, Stephen Milne’s cruel bounce, and Leo Barry’s well-documented pack mark.
These are the moments we pick apart, contemplate ‘what if?’ and reflect upon come grand final day.
But just as important as these moments are momentum swings, and how well teams and players can harness and capitalise on their momentum.
Inaccuracy, in the face of momentum, can be fatal, as Fremantle experienced in 2013, and the Hawks in 2012.
Kennedy has not only shown he is capable of kicking bags of goals this year, he has also displayed the poise and skill to seize momentum, punish opposition, and instil his teammates with confidence at critical points.
He is the Eagles’ x-factor.
Even in a team of All-Australians and last year’s Brownlow medalist, it is Kennedy who has the ability to propel the Eagles to their fourth flag off his own boot.
And while it will certainly need to be a team effort to win, it may be Kennedy who we remember for turning the game.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.