William Kennedy (born 18 April 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL).
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | William Kennedy Jr | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 18 April 1997 Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 88 kg (13 st 12 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Fullback | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 28 September 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editKennedy was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. Kennedy Jr is the son of former Balmain Tigers player William 'Bubba' Kennedy.[citation needed]
He played his junior rugby league for Bathurst St Patrick's.[citation needed]
Playing career
edit2019
editIn round 6 of the 2019 NRL season, Kennedy made his NRL debut for Cronulla against the Penrith Panthers.[2] Later in 2019, Kennedy played for Cronulla's feeder club Newtown where he was part of the squads which won the 2019 Canterbury Cup NSW premiership and 2019 NRL State Championship final.[3]
2021
editIn round 1 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries for Cronulla-Sutherland in a 32-18 victory over rivals St. George at Kogarah Oval.[4] In round 4 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries for Cronulla in a 48-10 victory over North Queensland at Kogarah Oval.[5]
In round 20 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries for Cronulla in their 22-40 loss against Manly in the "Battle of the Beaches" rivalry match.[6]
In round 23 of the 2021 NRL season against the Wests Tigers, Kennedy scored two tries for Cronulla in a 50-20 victory.[7]
Kennedy played 24 games for Cronulla and scored a total of 14 tries in the 2021 NRL season which saw the club narrowly miss the finals by finishing 9th on the table.[8]
2022
editIn round 9 of the 2022 NRL season, Kennedy was sent off in the first half of Cronulla's match against the New Zealand Warriors for a dangerous high tackle. Cronulla would go on to win the match despite being down to 11 men at one point in the game.[9] In the Qualifying Final, Kennedy scored two tries for Cronulla in a 32-30 loss against North Queensland. Kennedy played a total of 19 matches throughout the year scoring seven tries.[10]
2023
editIn round 2 of the 2023 NRL season, Kennedy scored a hat-trick in Cronulla's 30-26 victory over Parramatta.[11] In round 8, Kennedy scored his second hat-trick of the year in Cronulla's 33-20 victory over Canterbury.[12] Kennedy played a total of 19 games for Cronulla in the 2023 NRL season and scored 14 tries as Cronulla finished sixth on the table.[13]
2024
editKennedy played 26 games for Cronulla in the 2024 NRL season as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals. Kennedy played in all three of Cronulla's finals matches including their preliminary final loss against Penrith.[14]
Statistics
editNRL
edit*denotes season competing[1]
| Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Cronulla-Sutherland
|
2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 17 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 12 | |
| 2021 | 24 | 14 | 0 | — | 0 | 56 | |
| 2022 | 19 | 7 | 0 | — | 0 | 28 | |
| 2023 | 19 | 14 | 56 | ||||
| 2024 * | 26 | 5 | 20 | ||||
| Career totals | 107 | 42 | 0 | — | 0 | 168 | |
All Star
edit| Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |  Indigenous All Stars
|
1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ a b Rugby League Project
- ^ "Round 6 NRL squad announcements". NRL.com. 18 April 2019.
- ^ "Debutant Watch Canterbury Cup NSW Rd 1". www.nswrl.com.au. 11 March 2020.
- ^ "Cronulla Sharks win scrappy clash with Dragons; Canberra Raiders beat Wests Tigers with dominant second half". ABC News. 14 March 2021.
- ^ "Diabolical' Cowboys roasted after extending winless start to 2021 season against Sharks". wwos.nine.com.au. 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Trbojevic in a class of his own as Sea Eagles set sights on Storm". www.nrl.com. 2 August 2021.
- ^ "'They cannot attract big names': Ennis savages Tigers as star prop snubs Madge". www.foxsports.com.au. 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Papenhuyzen back to best as Storm secure minor premiership". www.nrl.com. 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Cronulla beat New Zealand Warriors despite send off". www.foxsports.com.au. 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Holmes' field goal leads Cowboys to prelim as Taumalolo stuns in golden point epic: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 10 September 2022.
- ^ "Reece Walsh stars as Brisbane Broncos beat Cowboys 28-16 in Queensland NRL derby, Cronulla edges Parramatta 30-26 in thriller". ABC News. 10 March 2023.
- ^ "Sharks skipper's big prediction after William Kennedy burns Bulldogs with hat-trick". wwos.nine.com.au. 22 April 2023.
- ^ "Sydney Roosters score 'wild' 13-12 NRL elimination final win over Cronulla Sharks, Penrith Panthers beat Warriors". ABC News. 9 September 2023.
- ^ "The Mole's end of season review: Awkward Sharks puzzle laid bare after $1m star 'lost his way'". www.nine.com.au.
External links
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