ADAM Kennedy no longer needs to dream. He’s living it.
The 19-year-old footballer is a member of the production line of young talent rolled out by the AFL’s newest franchise Greater Western Sydney in its inaugural year.
He made his debut in round one against Sydney at ANZ Stadium and has found a regular spot on the half-back flank.
It’s little wonder the boy from Melton is still struggling with the concept of playing at the highest level.
“With some of the talent we have up here I was a bit surprised to get a game in round one and to have kept that going,” he admits.
“It sinks in a bit more week by week. It’s still pretty surreal. Your job is the thing you love doing the most.”
While Kennedy is starting to believe he belongs, there was a time when he doubted he’d ever get the chance to show he could cut it.
A promising junior footballer with the Western Jets, Kennedy was gutted after being overlooked in the 2010 draft and subsequent rookie draft.
Instead of dwelling on the negative, Kennedy sucked up the disappointment and went on to star in the 2011 season and was named in the TAC Cup team of the year.
Then came the golden ticket he’d been wishing for, the news he had been pre-listed by GWS.
Wind the clock forward, almost halfway into the 2012 AFL season, and Kennedy already has seven games under his belt.
It’s no surprise to learn that he felt a sense of obligation when asked last month to re-sign with the club that threw him a lifeline. Kennedy was one of five young guns to extend their contracts until 2015.
“To have already done it now it’s a really good feeling, to know we’re secure and obviously the club rates you. It was pretty hard that year where I got looked over,” he adds, looking back.
“I was just happy to get picked up by an AFL club and to get the chance to show I was up to it. GWS have given me a chance at AFL and I feel I owe them just as much.”
Kennedy speaks glowingly of his new life with the expansion club.
As has been well reported, players live side by side at picturesque Breakfast Point in luxurious two and three-bedroom apartments.
Kennedy rooms with Stephen Clifton and Jack Hombsch. He confesses to bouts of homesickness in the early days but now reckons he couldn’t be happier.
“The set-up is really good. All the boys are close together and spend all our time together.
“It is different but I love it, to be honest. Every night when you get home you’re with your mates. They become like family to you.”
On the field, Kennedy has developed a reputation as a solid contributor to a club still finding its feet.
Despite the naysayers, the defender was part of GWS’s maiden victory over the Gold Coast in round seven in what he described as his best win in football.
“At the start I feel like we were a bit hard done by with everyone tipping that we wouldn’t win a game.
“As we’ve gone on we’ve proven ourselves more and more. It was the best win I’ve been a part of. It was such a good feeling.”
Kennedy began playing football aged eight at the Melton Bloods, following in the footsteps of his two older brothers.
Senior vice-president Brendan Gleeson says everyone at the club has watched his career with keen interest.
A handful of players from the club have previously made it to the AFL, names such as Aaron James and Footscray’s Mark Hunter, who Gleeson describes as a “freak”.
It’s only early days, but Gleeson believes Kennedy has the potential to be the best of the lot.
“He’s always been a kid who wanted to learn and improve his abilities,” Gleeson said. “It’s been great [watching him play]. He’s the talk of the football club and we’re really pleased. If anyone deserved an opportunity to play AFL football, Adam did.”
For now though, Kennedy, is trying to find his place in the strange and exciting world of AFL.
He hopes to be a one-club player and achieve the ultimate success with his newfound mates. “It’s something that only happens a number of times, a first-year club. If all the boys stay together I think we can go places.”
