WELCOME TO THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - JAY KENNEDY-HARRIS

[btdemon 482]

Had a look at this. He's very small but might be OK for a late cheap pick. We need a goal sneak. Just a thought.

Jay Kennedy-Harris

[Demon_JB 1,385]

If this guy slips as a late pick I would be very keen to have him on board. Has a built upper body so won't be a flimsy rake and will keep putting on mass. Might turn into a really good goal sneak and someone with aggression in putting forward line pressure on. Yes from me.

[InVINCEable 358]

I don't think he'll fall back to pick 40, and if he did will be a steal.

[mikeydemon 126]

Played against the bloke a few times so i know a bit about him

JK's been playing with Luke McDonald and Jack Billings for the last 5 years so he's learnt a lot from them to become more than just a small forward. Now goes into the midfield a lot and can rack up the touches. He's really evasive (as seen in his highlights) but sometimes does a bit too much and can get caught. Doesn't have electrifying pace but is quick enough to get away from most opponents and has great acceleration. Obviously a bit undersized so would take a while to make an impact at AFL level but he knows how to use his body well and could be a very good small forward with stints in the midfield within a few years.

Trinity Grammar boy who's been living in Melbourne for most of his life so there's no real indigenous factor that could lead to a Jurrah/Wonna like situation.

Would be an absolute steal at pick 40 but will most likely be picked up around 25-35. Fingers crossed teams pass on him and we can a Cyril Rioli type in JKH at 40.

[spirit of norm smith 16,478]

hope he lasts to pick 40

[Demon trucker 1,800]

Lucky to be drafted maybe rookie draft

[monoccular 17,439]

Hard to be sure....highlights are just that, highlights.

Certainly he is evasive but evasive at this level is different than evasive at AFL level. If he got taught by the likes of Campbell Brown he could be crushed.

(It would be nice to have a Kennedy, though with our history of picks we could get Jack or Bobby and end up with an early "career ending injury".)

[Whispering_Jack 30,245]

Hard to be sure....highlights are just that, highlights.

Certainly he is evasive but evasive at this level is different than evasive at AFL level. If he got taught by the likes of Campbell Brown he could be crushed.

(It would be nice to have a Kennedy, though with our history of picks we could get Jack or Bobby and end up with an early "career ending injury".)

Thankfully, there are not many grassy knolls around AFL grounds these days.

[TRIGON 4,783]

Thankfully, there are not many grassy knolls around AFL grounds these days.

Could development time at Casey be some cause for concern?

[spirit of norm smith 16,478]

This kid will be drafted. If he is available at 40, get on board.

[Guest]

Good get!

[What 18,810]

After 10 years we finally draft an exctiing small forward

Finally we have people at this club that have a clue

WELCOME JAY!

[1 red eye 1 blue eye 771]

Welcome Jay, crumbs galore coming your way mate.

[BAMF 4,358]

Phantom Draft Info

Knightmare

#47 North Melbourne Jay Kennedy-Harris (VIC Fwd/Mid)Height: 173cm, Weight: 68kg, DOB: 21/03/1995

Recruited from: Oakleigh Chargers

Style:

Player comparison: Andrew Krakouer

Range: 25-55

Profile: Small forward who has shown this year that he also has the ability to push up through the midfield and find the footy easily and be an effective two way player with his tackling particularly impressive. Kennedy-Harris point of difference is in his ability to sidestep with numbers around him and generate time and space for himself easily to be able to dispose of the ball effectively. Hes got a nice skillset both with his ability by hand and foot. Also has above average straight-line pace to go with his ability allowing him to break away from congestion at times and take on the game. Regardless of this improved midfield ability my vision with Kennedy-Harris is as a forward first who can rotate into the midfield as required. Kennedy-Harris is as natural a crumbing forward as youll ever see. He gets to the right positions consistently and knows where to position himself to get those balls that come to ground and will constantly go front and square in front of the contest. One touch with all his touches and a clean user of the footy. He also has a really nice tendency to release by hand or foot at the last second as he gets tackled and can still execute. Excellent finisher around goal and a guy who could fit into a forwardline pretty easily.

SnoopDog

# 31 WCE

Jay Kennedy-Harris Oakleigh / 173cm / 68kg / 95

Jay will end up going higher than most predict. A wonderful kid has been a really good performer at TAC level and during champs this year. Has really good game sense and a wonderful knack of being in the play at all times. Also can bob up for a special moment and is electric with ball in hand. He will have crowds buzzing when he gets near the ball in the same way Neade / Betts and co do. I think he has scope to go into middle when he gets stronger because he is just so good around and through traffic but he will be drafted as a small fwd first and foremost. He is very clever around the sticks. His size will worry clubs but he has great hands and is very clean. Wonderful leader and very bright kid.

Why and who else: Given their want for small fwds it is interesting that Gartlett was ruled out by themunless it is a ruse to try and snag him late! But look JKH is a wonderful kid and ticks a few boxes for the Coasters are after. I can see him playing a little like Walters on that big ground.

Quigley

40 Melbourne

Kennedy Harris is likely to start as a HFF and he is the kind of high character guy that Roos likes to have in his side. He is small but fits the mould of the small mid / HFF which has become popular in the AFL of late. He is a similar type to Davey who just retired and this would be a like for like replacement.

Jay Kennedy-Harris

DOB 21/3/95 Ht 174 Wt 68

Whilst there has been a trend back towards shorter blokes getting picked up again, it is fair to say they are generally up against it and often come at a discount. Up until the last few years guys under 175cm were routinely overlooked no matter how good they were but of late, the likes of Prestia, Kennedy and Hrovat have found their ways onto rosters and I expect Kennedy-Harris to do the same.

From the outside JKH seems like one of the more well-adjusted young blokes in this draft. He boarded at Trinity for four years before graduating to study Sports Science at uni this year and is living on campus. He has also done a bit of acting on the side appearing in an ad and was the first ever indigenous captain of a TAC side. He seems a bit more mature than many others in this draft and was a good leader when he got the chance. Teams are often worried about indigenous kids coming into their squads (see Rendells comments a couple of years ago) and I think many teams would mark him higher because of the positive role model he could be for indigenous guys teammates.

Kennedy-Harris played for Metro this year as a high flanker operating ahead of the contest but outside 50. Metro wanted to utilise his delivery skills into 50 and that is certainly one of the strengths of his game. He has an easy almost loose kicking style and he makes difficult kicks on the run look routine. He can punch the ball in but favours a well weighted pass most often. He is not a particularly long kick but he has sufficient penetration to get by. The player I am going to compare him to, although he is far from a perfect fit, is Lewis Jetta and one of the areas when Kennedy-Harris most resembles Jetta is with his kicking style. Jetta has greater penetration but both deliver it similarly. Kennedy-Harris does have a good ability to improvise with his kicks. He has good vision and has a bag of tricks that lets him get the ball to the open man when many others wouldnt be able to.

Kennedy-Harris is quick over the first 15m or so but unlike Jetta he is not able to sustain his pace. You will notice him burst away from contests or after receiving the ball, but over a longer run his opponent will often take quite a lot of ground off him. Somewhat counter to my position though is that when he is the one chasing he often seems to be able to take ground off opponents who I would think should be going away from him. His ability to sustain his speed might be a function of his endurance levels which will need to improve at AFL level but are not terrible by any stretch. Kennedy-Harris has a nice step and when faced with players in front of him he is very hard to tackle.

At the Combine he tested mid 13s for the beep which was average but he was in the top 30% for the 3km. He went a smidge under 3 in the 20m and was in the top 15% of the agility test. His repeat sprint test was probably his poorest result given the way he plays with him being just above the bottom 30% of those tested. His jumping was good but when you are as short as he is that is pretty much a non-issue although I guess Jamie Elliott has made a name for himself in that area.

Kennedy-Harris is predominantly an outside player. He gets to space well and has a good feel for where to run to receive in zone set ups. He drops into the hole 30m to 40m from the contest and you will regularly see him standing on his own. He times his arrival at the open space nicely. He has good hurt factor on his possessions but does not get it as much as you would like to see. At the Champs he averaged only 17 disposals per game and this figure was inflated by a 25 disposal game against Qld. In the TAC he averaged 23.3 disposals per game which is closer to what you would hope to see. I am not sure he will ever be a big possession guy at AFL level though. You never know though as he does have a bit of the Brent Harveys about him and if he upped his running ability he might just become a big possession winner.

On the inside I have seen him win clearances but they are few and far between and I doubt he has skill set to ever have much of an impact there at AFL level. His hands are a bit inconsistent and he is a regular fumbler with the ball on the ground. He does read the ball off hands well and will get to spots to receive the ball on the full. When he does get a clearance he is dangerous and can be gone with his pace or use it to advantage.

Overall I am a bit undecided on Kennedy-Harris. He could work out but I do think there is a high bust risk as well which must be considered. He is a good young bloke with some skills that might let him succeed at AFL level but he is far from the complete package. Admittedly that is a very common theme this year and he is probably a better punt than most.

[Arrow 1,257]

This is great. Very happy with this!

Will be like Jake Neade for Port, a few great games, but will need to develop his body too. Give him time he'll be a gem!

[whatwhat say what 22,783]

this kid is meant to be lightening quick, yes?

[Disco Demons 92]

Looks good.

[praha 11,240]

Jay Kennedy-Harris

50 seconds, WOW-WEE!

[hardtack 10,556]

this kid is meant to be lightening quick, yes?

If you read above you will see it is said he is very quick over the first 15m after which he can't sustain his pace... but he has plenty of other skills that more than negate that.

[LegsLeoncelli 162]

On edge: Jay Kennedy-Harris has a nervous wait.

[DeeSpencer 25,732]

Not lightning quick but very smooth and neat skills. Reminds me of Chris Yarran with agility (but minus the DH personality), speed without being blistering and that loose flowing kicking action (see Lewis Jetta) and the get up the ground and deliver it in to forward 50 aspect of his game will be as important as crumbing.

Looks like fitness, size and cutting out all fumbles will be the preparation needed in 2014.

On a side note it's nice to have an Indigenous kid and one with great leadership potential. We were looking a bit light on with just Dom Barry and whilst I'm not one for race based selection or quotas or anything stupid I think it's a positive. Hawthorn have nabbed a steal in Garlett but a huge part of why they could do it was because they have Burgoyne, Hill and Rioli at the club for support. Does that make sense without sounding crude?

[wisedog 352]

His first role was as ''boy scout No. 2'' and it got him into the background of a scene on Neighbours. More recently, you might have seen him wandering through a darkened railway station in a television commercial, breathing a sigh of relief as two protective service officers turn a corner and start walking towards him.

I thought I'd seen him somewhere, couldn't put my finger on it.

[rpfc 28,543]

I think this kid is more of a chance for Rd 1 than Salem.

Good head on his shoulders - already at uni as a aside - and he plays a role we don't have much of.

From his clips he looks very smart and can find the footy in space. Thank christ!

[DemonOX 8,791]

He looks ok but c how he goes on the paddock.

I feel like that every draft we get excited about the players we draft only to be disappointed during the season.

Hopefully this is changing.

[rpfc 28,543]

He looks ok but c how he goes on the paddock.

I feel like that every draft we get excited about the players we draft only to be disappointed during the season.

Hopefully this is changing.

During the season?

These guys are babies. I think your problem is unfairly inflated expectation, not a lack of deliverance by 19 year olds.