WELCOME TO THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - BEN KENNEDY

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

Still outside your starting 22 PD...?

[Members' Wing 1,106]

I was another one to be underwhelmed by his recruitment. Still think he's quite a limited player, but he's a hard little bastard and maybe the opportunity afforded to him, and the faith shown in him, by the MFC will be what he needs to kick start a long AFL career.

A good debut anyway.

[rpfc 27,636]

More of a link man than Toumpas, better forward play than Howe.

He plays a role that we don't have too many competitors for - especially if he continue to find the footy through the middle.

10 touches within 55m of goal and 11 further up the ground. Not many on our list would be comfortable doing that, or be able to do it.

[ChaserJ 4,007]

21 hours ago, monoccular said:

Quite topical over Easter weekend 

He was a real livewire - in another thread I asked where do we get goal assist / contribution stats.  I reckon he had a hand in four or five. 

He had 3 direct assists (footywire has goal assist stats), but would have had a few more score involvements. Loved the way he hit up Jack Watts in that five minute burst to start the last qtr.

[The Sailing Demon 379]

Said from the outset when I looked at his game after hearing that we were picking him up that he is exactly the guy what we need.
The bloke has been surrounded by the likes of Swan and Pendles for the past few years and needs to be a competitor and creative to even get a look in.
Sa his games and was super impressed with his flare, speed, and decision making.

[beelzebub 22,317]

Not sure on Kennedy but happy to watch and learn. Must admit he intrigues me. Seems like he wants to play good footy, so good.

We 're a different Melbourne that's for sure, ok by me.

Edited March 29, 2016 by beelzebub
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[Adzman 2,085]

I was probably a bit negative about his acquisition given we sent Howe and Toumpas out. I rated Howe given his value for young supporters. Perhaps I was wrong about Kennedy. Maybe Kennedy is just the right fit for us.

I'm happy to be proven wrong.

[DeeSpencer 23,459]

My concerns on him were 1. Size. 2. Composure. 3. Kicking. 4. Fitness. 

I don't think he'll ever be a perfect kick. His goal snuck in from 40 out, his pass to Watts floated and otherwise he seems to really have to work to get it over 40m, but he chose the right options when he was playing on quickly and making the correct decisions is more important than lacing the ball out every time.

He's not going to get any taller but he has no issues in using his nuggety frame to burrow in and to block and bump. 

Fitness is hard to judge but he didn't show any major signs of struggling to run out the game and his burst speed was evident. 

Hoping he can keep it up. 

I was really impressed when he stuck himself next to Jack Viney for a lot of training sessions. Great initiative from Ben and/or leadership from Jack. I think it would've helped his fitness, speed, hardness and confidence. As the season goes on I think Viney could rest forward and work on that part of his game and Kennedy could try his luck with more midfield minutes. 

[Deestroy All 14,262]

5 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

My concerns on him were 1. Size. 2. Composure. 3. Kicking. 4. Fitness. 

I don't think he'll ever be a perfect kick. His goal snuck in from 40 out, his pass to Watts floated and otherwise he seems to really have to work to get it over 40m, but he chose the right options when he was playing on quickly and making the correct decisions is more important than lacing the ball out every time.

He's not going to get any taller but he has no issues in using his nuggety frame to burrow in and to block and bump. 

Fitness is hard to judge but he didn't show any major signs of struggling to run out the game and his burst speed was evident. 

Hoping he can keep it up. 

I was really impressed when he stuck himself next to Jack Viney for a lot of training sessions. Great initiative from Ben and/or leadership from Jack. I think it would've helped his fitness, speed, hardness and confidence. As the season goes on I think Viney could rest forward and work on that part of his game and Kennedy could try his luck with more midfield minutes. 

He reminds me of Viney. 

His height was no issue when he made that amazing spoil in the last. Just brilliant. 

 

I watch a lot of Collingwood with my mate, who said BenK would come good. But I didn't think we'd get one game out of him that was as influential as he was on Saturday. So I'm pretty happy already. He's fun to watch too, strange comment, but recently I'm reminded how fun footy can be. 

 

 

Slightly related, pretty much every time Garlett goes into the middle since he's been here, something happens. It has driven me nuts that he isn't put in the middle more often. 

Hopefully the additions of BenK and Kent will allow this to happen more regularly. 

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

1 hour ago, Deestroy All said:

Slightly related, pretty much every time Garlett goes into the middle since he's been here, something happens. It has driven me nuts that he isn't put in the middle more often. 

Hopefully the additions of BenK and Kent will allow this to happen more regularly. 

very good point - that ridiculous, freakish ability he has when the ball is loose, it seems to just find it's way into his hands and then he gives everyone the slip. Obviously his game is not about smashing bodies like Viney and Jones live for - that's what makes him a good complementary player in the midfield, he can shark those loose ones just like he does in the forward line. He has that breakaway speed and finesse with his kicking too, I just can't believe how good this guy has gotten. Totally agree he should be looked at more in the middle - the problem is of course is handy as hell in the forward pocket so it might be robbing Peter to pay Paul. Maybe it's a matter of priming one of the other midfielders to be able to rotate in and have some of that FP time, but there's no chance they'll do as good a job as Jeffy, he is just your textbook forward pocket.

 

in short, I'd like two of him please

Edited March 29, 2016 by Curry & Beer

[CBDees 3,162]

4 hours ago, Curry & Beer said:

very good point - that ridiculous, freakish ability he has when the ball is loose, it seems to just find it's way into his hands and then he gives everyone the slip. Obviously his game is not about smashing bodies like Viney and Jones live for - that's what makes him a good complementary player in the midfield, he can shark those loose ones just like he does in the forward line. He has that breakaway speed and finesse with his kicking too, I just can't believe how good this guy has gotten. Totally agree he should be looked at more in the middle - the problem is of course is handy as hell in the forward pocket so it might be robbing Peter to pay Paul. Maybe it's a matter of priming one of the other midfielders to be able to rotate in and have some of that FP time, but there's no chance they'll do as good a job as Jeffy, he is just your textbook forward pocket.

 

in short, I'd like two of him please

Maybe he can train/mentor JKH?

[Gator 16,921]

The knocks on Kennedy were his tank, kicking and decision making.  He's obviously worked hard on all three.

If he keeps playing like he has been he's a very important cog in the side.  If he drops off he'll be one of the first omitted.

Edited March 29, 2016 by ProDee

[binman 39,082]

10 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

My concerns on him were 1. Size. 2. Composure. 3. Kicking. 4. Fitness. 

I don't think he'll ever be a perfect kick. His goal snuck in from 40 out

Talk about damming him with faint praise. That kick was brilliant - he was practically on the boundary line. 

[jnrmac 19,316]

On 3/9/2016 at 3:54 PM, DeeSpencer said:

Well we aren't very smart if we don't recruit a player for not only the attributes that will help the team but also how we will improve them. 

Of course he'll have to earn the games with some form and using his attributes but I'd be very surprised if the coaches don't give him some extra opportunities because it's the best way to fix composure issues. 

Keep dropping him and then brining him back and he'll never feel comfortable at the level. It might not be start of the season, it might be latter rounds, but I'd be shocked if he wasn't given a consistent run at it.

 

Hey, you are the one who stated  We brought him across to give him a consistent shot of games. 

That statement gave me a good laugh as it is patently untrue.

Carry on.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

He's been far better than I could have ever hoped, his attack on the ball has been a real highlight.

[Watts the matter 1,235]

1 hour ago, binman said:

Talk about damming him with faint praise. That kick was brilliant - he was practically on the boundary line. 

Very lucky it was a goal as Salem or Jetta was all alone in the corridor. 

[nutbean 8,837]

1 hour ago, Watts the matter said:

Very lucky it was a goal as Salem or Jetta was all alone in the corridor. 

just watched - it was Salem....

[juzzk1d 1,354]

I knew Kennedy had something when I saw him in his junior days. When we recruited him I was stoked. Told my brother and all my mates he will be a very very handy player and could finish in our top 5 in the b&f. I got laughed at. I'm doing the laughing now. Go Dees.

[Chook 14,613]

5 hours ago, ProDee said:

The knocks on Kennedy were his tank, kicking and decision making.  He's obviously worked hard on all three.

If he keeps playing like he has been he's a very important cog in the side.  If he drops off he'll be one of the first omitted.

That doesn't sound very fair.

[Scipio 5,868]

10 minutes ago, juzzk1d said:

I knew Kennedy had something when I saw him in his junior days. When we recruited him I was stoked. Told my brother and all my mates he will be a very very handy player and could finish in our top 5 in the b&f. I got laughed at. I'm doing the laughing now. Go Dees.

Don't laugh too hard yet, it's only one real game. Haven't you learned anything following the MFC?

[Gator 16,921]

10 minutes ago, Chook said:

That doesn't sound very fair.

It's overcast today. 

[juzzk1d 1,354]

40 minutes ago, Django said:

Don't laugh too hard yet, it's only one real game. Haven't you learned anything following the MFC?

MFCSS just kicked in. 

[Akum 2,660]

18 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

haha sorry mate it did give me a giggle. Don't worry i have had my fair share of humble pie with Jack Watts!

... and may it long continue!! 

[Scipio 5,868]

54 minutes ago, juzzk1d said:

MFCSS just kicked in. 

It will take a long time to get over the emotional damage.

[DeeSpencer 23,459]

4 hours ago, jnrmac said:

Hey, you are the one who stated  We brought him across to give him a consistent shot of games. 

That statement gave me a good laugh as it is patently untrue.

Carry on.

Good 2nd half against Port. Poor against the Dogs reserves. Which is when I posted that comment. Others were saying he'll end up at Casey. I was saying the coaches will stick with him.

Did they drop him for the Saints game where we fielded pretty much our round 1 team? No. And we were rewarded with 2 good games since.

Clubs recruit players due to their attributes, a role in the team or structure but also due to a perceived developmental advantage to make them better than they had been. Pretty simple concept.