Ben Kennedy (Australian rules footballer)

After predictions Kennedy would be drafted inside the top twenty in the 2012 national draft,[21][22] he was recruited by the Collingwood Football Club with their second selection and nineteenth overall.[23] He played in the round two and round three matches in the 2013 NAB Cup against the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Lions respectively,[24] and he was named the third best player for Collingwood against Brisbane,[25] where he recorded nineteen disposals, four marks and a goal.[26] He started the 2013 season playing for the Collingwood reserves in the Victorian Football League (VFL)[27] and he made his AFL debut in the twenty-six point win against the St Kilda Football Club at Etihad Stadium in round six.[28] He was the substitute for the match and he was brought into the game in the third quarter and recorded eight disposals from 33 percent game time.[29] He finished the season with twelve games, and he was the substitute in six matches,[30] he averaged 11.8 disposals and kicked nine goals[31] with a season-best three goals in the Queen's Birthday Clash against the Melbourne Football Club in round eleven at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[32]

Kennedy had a small delay to the 2014 pre-season when he had surgery to relieve the symptoms of compartment syndrome in his legs.[33] He played in the opening match of the season against the Fremantle Football Club at Etihad Stadium where he was the substitute and he replaced Martin Clarke in the third quarter.[34] He was omitted from the side the next week[35] and despite strong performances in the VFL,[36] he played only one senior match in the next fourteen weeks where he was the late replacement for the injured Nick Maxwell in the round seven, thirty-four point win against the Carlton Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[37] He returned to the senior side in the fifteen point win against Carlton in round fifteen as the substitute, again as a late replacement for an injured player,[38] he played five of the remaining eight matches, and he finished the season with eight matches in total and he was the substitute in five of the matches.[39]

Kennedy struggled to gain senior selection in the first half of 2015 and his first senior match of the year was in the Queen's Birthday, twenty-five point win against Melbourne in round ten where he was the substitute.[40] This prompted speculation in the middle of the year that he was on the outer and he may be traded at the end of the season to try and gain more senior selection.[41] He managed five matches for the season[42] and after twenty five matches in total for Collingwood in three seasons,[43] he was traded to the Melbourne Football Club in October[44] even though he was contracted to Collingwood until the end of 2016.[45] He cited the opportunity for more senior games as the reason for his move to Melbourne.[46][47]

Kennedy at training in March 2017

Kennedy played all three matches in the 2016 NAB Challenge for his new club and he was named in the best players in the first match against the Port Adelaide Football Club at Elizabeth Oval,[48] and his performances in the NAB Challenge saw AFL Media journalist, Travis King, predict he would play his first match for Melbourne in round one.[49] He ultimately played the round one match against Greater Western Sydney in a two-point win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[50] He was praised for his match which was labelled as impressive,[51] and he was named as Melbourne's second best player by AFL Media.[52] He played the first ten matches before being omitted for the match against the Hawthorn Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round eleven.[53] He played in the VFL for Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions, where he recorded thirty disposals, ten tackles and three goals,[54] and he was brought back into the senior side the next week for the Queen's Birthday match against Collingwood.[55][56] He played the next five matches before being dropped for the round eighteen match against West Coast at Domain Stadium[57] He played the remainder of the season for Casey and he played in the losing grand final against Footscray at Etihad Stadium.[58][59] He played fifteen matches in his first season for Melbourne, which resulted in a twenty-first place finish in the best and fairest count.[60] After not managing a senior game in 2017, Kennedy was delisted by Melbourne.[61]