Resilience has underpinned Western Bulldogs youngster Luke Kennedy's journey to an AFL debut on Thursday night.
The hard-working midfielder will make his debut in Round 14 after being selected with Pick 62 in the 2024 AFL National Draft.
“He'll be hard and tough, he'll whack into the contest really well,” his junior coach Rob Harding told Zero Hanger.
“You'll see neat skills, hard work in the contest and he'll run just as at the end of the game as he is at the start, that's a big strength of his.
“He was a six-minute flat two kilometre time trial for me, he's just going to contribute all through the night for the Dogs so fans will enjoy watching him.”
Harding was always glowing of Kennedy's determination in his draft year, 2024, and the Ormond product's journey remains a blueprint which is regularly referenced at the Dragons.
He won a senior best and fairest playing in the VAFA, playing as an inside midfielder against men and impacting with his endurance running and skill execution.
His coachability, curiosity and work ethic kept him in draft conversations throughout 2024 despite missing Vic Metro's squad for the Under-18s National Championships.
“He's had to work really hard for it. He's beautifully skilled on both sides of his body,” Harding said.
“It's important everyone understands the draft is for everyone, he didn't come through the private school system and good players get found which he did.”
Playing alongside Rising Star winner Murphy Reid and AFL premiership player Levi Ashcroft in 2024, where he won a flag with the Dragons, he was a valued member of the midfield with his defensive running and intent.
Since arriving at the kennel, he has been interrupted by multiple concussions and an eye injury, but shown strong improvement, playing in Footscray's premiership and building into strong form this year.
He comes into the line-up off the back of 17 disposals and a whopping 16 tackles in the VFL, with Lachie McNeil a forced exclusion due to concussion.
“He might not get social media attention but recruiters don't miss much: if you put good performances on top of good performances, you get the opportunity,” Harding said.
“Luke played a selfless team role a lot through 2024 with us and gets the chance off the back of that.”
The Dogs play on Thursday night against Adelaide at Marvel Stadium.
