Kennedy’s haul saw him leapfrog former St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt and ex-Carlton champion Harry Vallence into 21st spot in the all-time VFL/AFL goalkicking list.
The star forward received a huge cheer when he won the pre-game coin toss, but the Crows silenced the crowd with the first three goals of the match inside six minutes.
Adelaide forward Darcy Fogarty kicked three last-quarter goals, finishing with four for the match.Credit:Daniel Carson
The rest of the quarter was the Kennedy show, as the West Coast great showcased his elite goalkicking.
Kennedy got the crowd going with a 49-meter set shot from the boundary line.
And it was party time late in the quarter when Kennedy kicked two goals in as many minutes, both from 50m out and one of which was from the boundary.
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Kennedy’s heroics meant the quarter-time margin was just three points, and West Coast shot out to an eight-point lead in the second term when he slotted his fourth goal.
Adelaide fought back and the signs for the West Coast looked ominous as the visitors opened up a 23-point lead in the third quarter.
Kennedy twice stepped up to stem the tide, following his 25m set shot with yet another bomb from outside 50m.
The veteran wasn’t done with yet, booting two more goals in the final term to set up a grandstand finish.
But Kennedy’s rare late blemish proved to be West Coast’s final shot, with Adelaide steadying from there.
Adelaide defender Will Hamill was subbed off in the second quarter with concussion after copping an accidental elbow from Jack Darling in a marking contest.
The Crows entered the match in damage control after the ghosts of the club’s ill-fated 2018 pre-season camp surfaced again this week.
The new revelations from Eddie Betts and Josh Jenkins forced both Adelaide and the AFL to apologise.
Swans outclass the struggling Roos
The Sydney Swans enhanced their AFL top-four prospects with a comfortable 38-point victory over lowly North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
The Swans predictably dominated Sunday’s contest but North, led by an equal career-high seven goals from Nick Larkey, kicked accurately to prevent the visitors from streaking ahead in the first-half.
Lance Franklin kicked four goals after a quiet start.Credit:Darrian Traynor
Sydney put their foot down in the third quarter, however, kicking six goals to three before cruising to their fifth-straight victory, 18.18 (126) to 13.10 (88).
The result leaves the Swans (14-6) fourth on the ladder, just below reigning premiers Melbourne on percentage, leading into their last home-and-away games against Collingwood and St Kilda.
Nick Larkey was among the Kangaroos’ best, booting seven goals.Credit:Darrian Traynor
“We took the foot off in that last bit and they were able to kick five goals in that last quarter,” Swans coach John Longmire said.
“We want that pressure up, to sustain it and keep it going for four quarters and [North] were able to just finish off with some goals in that last quarter.”
Wayne Schwass, Denis Pagan, and Wayne Carey were part of the Kangaroos contingent celebrating their 1996 premiership reunion on Sunday.Credit:Getty Images
Sydney were too powerful across the ground, with young guns Chad Warner, Errol Gulden and Nick Blakey leading the charge.
But veterans Tom Hickey, Sam Reid and dynamic forward-midfielder Tom Papley were also influential.
Superstar Lance Franklin, who on Saturday declared he was putting contract talks with the club on hold until the end of the season, ended with four goals after North defender Aidan Corr restricted the legendary goal-kicker early in the game.
North (2-18) suffered a pre-game blow when key defender Ben McKay (shoulder) was withdrawn and replaced by Josh Walker, who played the first few minutes in the Kangaroos’ VFL game at Arden St before being taken off.
Larkey was clearly the Kangaroos’ best, while midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke put in another outstanding performance in his career-best season.
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“We thought we played some really good patches of footy, and then at times we thought we were too easy to score against,” caretaker North coach Leigh Adams said.
“We got a really good lesson, the margin could have got out further, but to the boys credit they fought in really hard, but just too inconsistent.”
The Swans are back at the SCG next Sunday for a mammoth clash with the red-hot Magpies in a crucial battle to make-up the top-four, while the Kangaroos travel to play Adelaide on Saturday to face the Crows.
NORTH MELBOURNE
2.0 5.1 8.5 13.10 (88)
SYDNEY SWANS
4.5 8.10 14.15 18.18 (126)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Larkey 7, Zurhaar 2, Davies-Uniacke, Taylor, Coleman-Jones, Hall.
Sydney Swans: Franklin 4, Papley 3, Warner 3, Heeney 2, Reid 2, McDonald 2, Gulden, Hayward.
BEST
North Melbourne: Larkey, Simpkin, Hall, Anderson, Stephenson.
Sydney Swans: Warner, Hickey, Rowbottom, Papley, Parker.
umpires: Whetton, Rebeschini, Wallace
VENUE: Marvel Stadium
CROWD: 19,091