West Coast Eagles spearhead Josh Kennedy ‘feeling good’ ahead of final

DUAL Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy has been declared a certain starter for next week’s qualifying final against Collingwood after completing match simulation at training yesterday.

A hairline fracture to the left leg has prevented Kennedy from playing since round 18 but he showed no signs of the injury yesterday as the team completed 40 minutes of match practice at Lathlain Park.

Kennedy played at full-forward, ran freely and marked strongly in the biggest public test of his recovery.

“Today we had a really good hit-out with no injuries which was great,” coach Adam Simpson told West Coast’s Finals Lunch.

“JK got through the whole session which was fantastic as well - right to the end. He trained well. We’re in a good space.”

West Coast were 10-1 with Kennedy in the team throughout the home and away season, and they didn’t lose when both Kennedy and Jack Darling played. The Eagles averaged 100 points per game when their two key forwards were available.

Kennedy said two more training sessions next week would have him primed to play against Collingwood.

“I trained and got through. It’s feeling good so I’ll be available to play next week,” Kennedy said.

“It’s been a bit of a different program. The build up has been pretty short and the one today was do big. I only started training last week.

“It’s a different approach but it’s still given the leg the enough time to heal which has been good. I’m running around pain free so I’ll get more training in next week on Monday and Wednesday. I should be right to go for Saturday.”

Simpson praised the club’s younger players for how they had adapted to their first season in the AFL and described Willie Rioli’s year as “exceptional.”

But he said the experienced players were vastly more prepared for September than they were when the Eagles made the 2015 grand final.

Simpson said he was proud of the team’s resilience this season and he saw similarities to Richmond’s rise to last year’s flag.

“You do have to go through the hurt,” Simpson said.

“Richmond have done that. As much as everyone thinks Richmond jumped off the page last season, they had three or four finals series before (2016).

“You’ve got to go through some pain and we’ve gone through some pain ourselves. Obviously 2015 was a fair jump up for the club to make that grand final. We’ve played three years in a row in the finals. It’s a pretty mature state.”

West Coast beat Collingwood by 35 points at the MCG in the only clash between the clubs this season. Simpson said while there would be multiple changes to both teams from that clash but he was confident the players knew what to expect from the Magpies on Saturday.