Jackson Nelson and Zac Langdon are in line for Eagles recalls after both were named on an extended interchange for Josh Kennedy’s farewell game against Adelaide.
There will be at least three changes to the Eagles side who fell to the Suns last week, highlighted by the return of champion forward Kennedy for what will be the final game of his career.
Kennedy will return to the side after missing the loss to the Gold Coast, while Connor West and Jack Petruccelle miss out through injury and Jai Culley is suspended.
Langdon has not played since the West Coast’s round six loss to Port Adelaide and has battled an ankle injury for most of the season.
Meanwhile, Nelson has not featured since he celebrated his 100th game for the club against Geelong in June.
Jackson Nelson and Rhett Bazzo. Credit: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Hugh Dixon, who was last week’s medi-sub, has been named on the extended interchange, as have Samo Petrevksi-Seton, Xavier O’Neill, Luke Foley and Greg Clark.
After missing last week’s game with an ankle injury, young gun Rhett Bazzo is also a chance to return for West Coast.
Jake Waterman, who sported strapping on his right knee and jogged laps with injured trio Petruccelle, Elliot Yeo and Tom Cole at training today, has been named on the wing.
WEST COAST:
B: S Hurn, T Barrass, L Duggan
HB: B Hough, H Edwards, J Jones
C: J Waterman, T Kelly, A Gaff
HF: L Ryan, J Darling, J Cripps
F: B Williams, J Kennedy, W Rioli
FOLL: N Naitanui, J Redden, L Shuey
I/C (from): Z Langdon, S Petrevski-Seton, X O’Neill, L Foley, J Nelson, R Bazzo, G Clark, H Dixon
Melbourne star Ed Langdon has labeled Collingwood “a bit of a one-trick pony at times” despite the side’s 10-match winning streak, raising the stakes of Friday night’s blockbuster clash at the MCG.
The Pies defeated the Dees when the two sides last met, prevailing by 26 points in the Queen’s Birthday game.
Still, Langdon said the Dees were well and truly prepared for the Pies from a planning perspective.
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Grundy return suffers unexpected delay | 00:23
“There’s certainly a plan in place. Without giving away too much, it’s not dissimilar to what we did to Freo (Fremantle) last week,” he said on SEN Drive, referring to the side’s 46-point demolition of another side that had beaten them earlier in the year.
“Our defense is definitely our biggest strength and to be honest we probably pride ourselves on making Friday night games pretty boring to watch for spectators.
“They’re sort of all duck, no dinner in a sense. If they’re playing fast footy on their terms they’re a very hard team to stop.
“They’re a bit of a one-trick pony at times, so hopefully we can dampen the way they want to play and off the back of that go out and offensively play the way we want to play.”
The Pies enter Friday night’s game equal with Melbourne on points, but trailing significantly on percentage.
Retiring WA footy greats Josh Kennedy and David Mundy have paid tribute to each other after both the West Coast and Fremantle veterans announced their retirements this week.
Kennedy revealed his final curtain call will be against Adelaide at Optus Stadium on Sunday and Mundy said it wasn’t a round too soon for the Dockers.
“When his announcement came out, obviously it wasn’t a great surprise but he’s had a great career,” Mundy told SEN WA.
“I’m most thankful that he decided this week will be his last week and not the derby (the following round) because I just know he would have got up and kicked eight and won the game for them after the siren.
“He’s been an incredible player for the West Coast Eagles and he should be celebrated like a true champion.”
Josh Kennedy. Credit: Paul Kane/via AFL Photos
Mundy joked that the Eagles spearhead, who will retire as the club’s all-time leading goalkicker, has been “an incredibly big thorn in our side”.
Meanwhile, Kennedy, 34, acknowledged how universally respected the Fremantle stalwart was, saying: “I think we all love David Mundy.”
“He’s been an absolute superstar. Not only for the Fremantle Dockers but for WA footy,” Kennedy said.
“He’s always been a humble family man and being on the opposition, I’ve always loved being able to; one, play against him but then; (two), watch from afar what he’s been able to achieve.”
Kennedy said it was a testament to the 37-year-old that he’s still performing at a high standard after more than 17 years at the top level.
Mundy had 35 touches against Melbourne on Friday night. Credit: Paul Kane/via AFL Photos
“To achieve what he’s achieved over the course of his career and to be doing what he’s still doing at his age is a credit to him,” Kennedy said.
“To see what he’s done towards the back end of his career as well, a lot of guys will obviously fade out and he’s never faded out, he’s still playing some unbelievable football.”
Mundy will hang up his boots at the end of Fremantle’s 2022 campaign.
Mabior Chol continues to make the most of the chance given to him by a Gold Coast Suns side whose slim AFL finals hopes could rest on the boot of the former Richmond forward.
With three rounds of the regular season remaining, the Suns remain a mathematical chance of playing finals football for the first time in the club’s history.
It’s a tall order and the Suns will need other results to go their way, but with Chol in stellar form, it’s not yet impossible.
Having joined the Suns this year from the Tigers, where the regular top-flight football was craved wasn’t forthcoming, Chol has rewarded Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew for believing in him.
The 25-year-old, 200cm giant has kicked 43 goals this season, including a career-best single-game haul of five in the Suns’ three-point weekend win over the West Coast Eagles.
“I’ve been seeking an opportunity for a very long time to show what I can do at the highest level,” Chol said ahead of the Suns’ trip to Tasmania for Saturday’s clash against Hawthorn in Launceston.
“I knew coming up here I wasn’t just going to walk straight in. I knew I was going to have to work hard and earn my position.
“There’s been a lot of hard work since the start of the pre-season and it’s just been an exciting season … I knew what I was capable of doing.”
As did Dew, who said Chol was a “real leader” who gave the Suns “great energy”.
“He’s a real thinker of the game,” the Gold Coast mentor said.
“He sees the game really well, he can understand what’s happening, patterns of play, so when he comes to the bench, he’s really aware of how the game’s going.
“The more he gets confidence to voice that to the greater group he’s going to improve his leadership. “We’re excited by not only what he’s done, but what’s to eat.”
Chol said the Suns weren’t looking ahead to the finals but instead on the immediate task of beating the Hawks for a second time this season after disposing of them by 67 points in Darwin in May.
“We’re just focusing on each game, each week – we’re not trying to look too far ahead. It’s been exciting,” he said.
The Suns are hopeful another former Tiger, Brandon Ellis, overcomes a shoulder problem to play this weekend after he was a late withdrawal from the team that beat the Eagles.
Dew said of Ellis: “We anticipate he’ll be on the plane to Tassie.”
It’s one of the most famous and unique trades in footy history.
Famous because it involved two players, Chris Judd and Josh Kennedy, that end their careers with stacked CVs, with surely the latter to join the former in the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
And unique because both Carlton and West Coast could claim they ‘won’ the trade.
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Debate over the famous 2007 deal between the Blues and Eagles has, inevitably, emerged this week after Kennedy announced West Coast’s upcoming match against Adelaide would be his 293rd and final AFL game.
The soon-to-be 35-year-old will depart as the Eagles’ greatest goalkicker, as well as several accolades including a dual Coleman Medallist, seven-time Eagles leading goalkicker and triple All-Australian. He was also a pivotal member of West Coast’s thrilling 2018 premiership triumph over Collingwood.
‘Josh is the greatest Eagle ever!’ | 03:56
Kennedy’s achievements came almost exclusively at the Eagles after Carton’s No. 4 pick from the 2005 draft was central to one of footy’s most famous trades.
In late 2007, Judd – West Coast’s 2005 premiership captain and arguably the best player in the AFL at the time – wanted to return to Victoria, with the Blues keen to secure his services.
After 11 goals from 22 games at Carlton, Kennedy moved back to Western Australia – although he was happy and settled in Melbourne at the time.
As part of the deal, Carlton acquired Judd and Pick 46, which it used to select Dennis Armfield, who played 145 games for the Blues). The Eagles got Kennedy, as well as Picks 3 (Chris Masten – a premiership Eagle that played 215 games for West Coast) and 20 (Tony Notte, who played two games in three seasons).
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The struggling Blues not only needed a star player, they sought a leader and standard-setter, hence he was made captain in his first year. In his first four seasons at the Blues, Judd made the All-Australian team in each year, won the Blues’ best and fairest in the first three, claimed the 2010 Brownlow Medal and won the AFL Players’ Association’s MVP award.
Judd was four years older than Kennedy when the 2007 trade went down. He was also already a Brownlow Medallist, Norm Smith Medallist and premiership captain.
But as Judd was coming to the end of his career, Kennedy reached his prime. He kicked 59 goals as a 23-year-old before a golden run where he booted 60, 61, 80 (Coleman Medal), 82 (Coleman Medal) and 69 majors across five seasons. Most crucially, the next year he kicked 3.2 from 18 disposals and 11 marks in a winning Grand Final.
Ex-Carlton coach Brett Ratten with Chris Judd on the day he officially became a Blue. Picture: Simon MossmanSource: AAP
Injury forced Judd to retire at 31 following a couple of seasons where it was clear he was part of his incredible prime. Kennedy will retire after a mighty, warrior-like finish to his career that’s seen him kick 43, 49, 34, 41 and 29 goals from the past five seasons. Considering the Eagles’ plight, the poor delivery inside 50 and his own injury niggles, the fact Kennedy has booted 29 goals this year is remarkable.
Ultimately, the Blues got seven seasons out of Judd and the Eagles got 15 out of Kennedy.
So all things considered, who won the 2007 Judd-Kennedy trade?
Fremantle legend Matthew Pavlich perhaps put it most diplomatically.
“Probably West Coast in the long run, but it’s one of those ones where you could probably argue the case either way on who had the better result,” Pavlich told foxfooty.com.au.
“Judd was captain and All-Australian and took the Blues to a finals win in 2013. So maybe the short-term winner was Carlton, but definitely the long-term winner has been West Coast in terms of Josh Kennedy being an incredible forward for a long, long period of time, All-Australian, Coleman Medalist and eventually a premiership player in 2018. He’s been a star for a long time.
Eagle calls time on phenomenal career | 04:15
“So short-term Carlton, long-term West Coast – it’s not usually you get a trade like that where both teams could argue that they got a better result.”
Ultimately, the business of footy is winning, which is what swayed two Fox Footy pundits to the Eagles.
“Without judging the individual players but judging from the time of the trade, I would feel West Coast won the trade,” triple premiership Lion Alastair Lynch told foxfooty.com.au. “That’s not reducing or belittling Judd’s contribution because he is one of the all-time greats of the game, but post-trade, West Coast got a flag out of it and I suppose Carlton didn’t, so I’d have them just in front.”
Bulldogs games record-holder Brad Johnson told foxfooty.com.au: “Well West Coast won a flag, so I think with what West Coast got out of Kennedy was absolutely spot on for what they needed as a team.”
Triple premiership forward Cameron Mooney also leant towards West Coast – but not by much.
Josh Kennedy with the 2018 Premiership Cup. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia
“I think it worked out pretty well for both. But if I had to pick, being a forward and knowing how hard it is to kick 700 goals and to win a premiership, which is the main game of the game, you have to think probably West Coast,” Mooney told foxfooty.com.au. “But I would’ve been very, very happy if Chris Judd walked through my doors.
“The thing for Carlton was at the time, the club just wasn’t a good club – and it’s probably the perfect example of one person cannot change a football club. He’s in the top handful of players this century and as great as he is, he couldn’t change a club that, probably until recently, had been seen as a poor club.”
AFL 360 co-host Mark Robinson declared it a win-win for the Eagles and Blues.
“They both won. Judd was a champion and Kennedy played 15 years,” Robinson told Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“His second headline in football was ‘Carlton are giving away Josh Kennedy’ – and his last headline will be ‘Josh Kennedy retires a champion of the game’. It’s a great story.”
AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley added: “It’s quite clear Carlton didn’t know what they were trading, because nobody trades THAT player. He was two years in and the forecasting wasn’t he was going to become one of the top 25 goalkickers of all-time. He might’ve been reluctant at the start, but he found his home from him and West Coast and he won his reputation from him at West Coast.
Veteran West Coast Eagles forward Josh Kennedy has confirmed Sunday’s home game against Adelaide will be his last in the AFL.
Key points:
Kennedy leaves the Eagles after 15 seasons with the club
He is the leading scorer with 704 goals
He is retiring because of injury issues
Kennedy, 34, will depart the game as West Coast’s leading goal kicker, a three-time All-Australian, dual Coleman medalist and premiership player.
He was an integral part of the club’s 2018 premiership side as West Coast’s only multiple goal kicker on the day, with three crucial majors.
He also had 18 disposals and took 11 marks as the Eagles claimed their fourth premiership.
Drafted by Carlton at pick No.4 overall from East Fremantle in 2005, Kennedy played 22 games for the Blues before somewhat reluctantly agreeing to be involved in the famous trade that sent West Coast premiership captain Chris Judd to the Blues at the end of 2007.
Josh Kennedy (right) said his body had taken enough.(AAP: Richard Wainwright)
After a stellar career spanning 17 seasons, Kennedy said his body has had enough.
“My knee is a big reason for retiring. I think my drive to play is still there, but I’m realistic my body is not going to be able to take me to another season,” he said.
“To be able to farewell West Coast supporters one last time at Optus Stadium and say thank you for the incredible support over the years will be the perfect way to finish my career.”
Club farewells ‘one of the greats’
West Coast CEO Trevor Nisbett said the club was blessed to have had Kennedy for the last 15 seasons.
“We have been fortunate to have many great players come through the doors of our club over our 35 years and Josh ranks with the best of them,” he said.
Trevor Nisbett says Josh Kennedy will leave a lasting legacy.(AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
“His achievements compare to the greatest in the history of the game. He is our highest-ever goal kicker and one of our most durable players.
“But his on-field achievements are only part of the story. He has been a guiding light for our younger players, but also a significant contributor across the broader community.”
Coach Adam Simpson said Kennedy was loved by his teammates and would go into history books as one of the greatest players.
“Josh is going to be one of the game’s greats and one of the club’s greats,” he said.
West Coast coach Adam Simpson says Josh Kennedy has been instrumental in the club’s success.(AAP: Darren England)
“What he’s done in my time at the club, it’s just been a pleasure to see and watch. Coleman Medals, the ability to stand up in big games. Clutch, not just goals, but clutch moments.”
Sunday’s game against the Crows will be his 292th AFL game.
