WOOF welcome Luke Kennedy to the Whitten Oval

[bulldogtragic]

Welcome young fella.

[GVGjr]

Midfielder with a high work rate, clean hands in the contest and an exceptional kick on both feet. Won a senior best and fairest award at Ormond as a 16-year-old in 2023 and this year was an important member of the Sandringham Dragons premiership team in the Coates Talent League. Averaged 18.5 disposals (eight contested) in 18 matches and finished runner-up in Dragons best and fairest award. Also made his VFL debut during the year, playing a game for both Sandringham and Coburg. His time of 6:08 in the 2km time trial was the second fastest of any player to test at a state Draft Combine.

[Testekill]

A defensively minded inside mid is a good pick to round things out. Hope we have him learning everything from Libba

[josie]

Dual footed great kick. Nice.

Our VFL midfield will look very fresh.

[GVGjr]

State Combine results

Height 180.5
Vertical Jump 59cm
Run VJ Right 64cm
Run VJ Left 70cm
5mtr 1.158
10mtr 1.886
20mtr 3.153
Agility 8.638
2Km 6.08

[Dry Rot]

Did we do a pick trade on the night to get this pick?

[Mofra]

Great kick and incredible endurance. This is exactly the type of kid we should be targeting with a later pick.
Wrapt that we got him. Others mentioned him weeks ago as a kid worth watching.

[GVGjr]

Did we do a pick trade on the night to get this pick?

We have done a couple on the night. I think this one was a future 4th

[hujsh]

Check out his highlights package. Really incredible. Is he really just a defensive mid?

[hujsh]

STRENGTHS:
+ Clean hands
+ Defensive running
+ Dual-footed
+ Endurance

IMPROVEMENTS:
- Outside game
- Speed

Not many players win senior best and fairests at 16-years-old. It's an honour Luke Kennedy has under his belt, doing so at Ormond last year. The midfielder also racked up enough votes to place second in Sandringham's count this year having made great strides in the back-end of his top-age campaign.

Kennedy is a terrific user of the ball, boasting a clean set of hands and great vision to get him out of trouble. He also has the benefit of being extremely dual-footed, proving a natural footballer who is fleet of thought. Those traits, along with his endurance, make up for his lack of explosive pace.

While tested out on a wing early in the year, Kennedy truly thrived when given the opportunity to run through the Dragons' engine room. His defensive accountability allowed others to shine on the way forward, and he got his own hands on the ball to be an underrated figure in the region's third-consecutive premiership.

Having only confirmed his running capacity with a 6:09 2km time trial at the state draft combine, Kennedy is firming as a late-draft smokey, despite not getting a run with Vic Metro. Improvement will come in his speed and outside game, though he is a hard worker and effective ball user already.

[azabob]

Check out his highlights package. Really incredible

Clearly drafted for his set shot goal kicking.

[Scorlibo]

Love seeing a fast Sherrin spinner! Crisp.

Looks a zippy little nugget too.

Good luck Luke.

[bulldogtragic]

Love seeing a fast Sherrin spinner! Crisp.

Looks a zippy little nugget too.

Good luck Luke.

Two Kennedy’s now. Jack & Bobby.

[jDogs]

Check out his highlights package. Really incredible. Is he really just a defensive mid?

How did he fall so far??

[weltschmerz]

How did he fall so far??

He was behind a few huge names at the Dragons.