Australian Football

Matthew Kennedy was a powerful key defender / utility player from the Gold Coast who played a total of 188 AFL games for the Brisbane Bears/Lions from 1990 to 2001. Son of ex-St.Kilda defender Des Kennedy, Matthew was born in Melbourne and moved to Queensland aged eight. He played junior football at Surfers Paradise and Southport, and was a Queensland U17 representative. After tasting QAFL premiership success with Southport in 1989 as a 19-year-old made his AFL debut the following year.

Boasting long, curly blonde locks and renowned for his thumping long kicks, Kennedy was a member of the Bears' 1991 Reserves premiership side before becoming a valuable senior player. Best served at centre half back, he also played at times on the wing and was a makeshift ruckman. He was one of only nine players to play 100 senior games for the club during the Bears era. Carrying a trademark shaved head in his latter days, he was sixth in the Bears best and fairest in 1993 and Best Clubman in 1996 after a key role in the club’s first preliminary final side. He finished 3rd in the Lions best and fairest, won the ‘Most Professional Player Award’ in 1998, and narrowly missed All-Australian selection the following year.

Kennedy represented Queensland, Queensland/NT, and the Allies in interstate football, but sadly fell short of enjoying premiership glory with the Lions. After playing eight senior games in 2001, including the preliminary final, he made way for the return of Alastair Lynch to the side, a sad blow akin to that suffered by his father Des when injury ruled him out of St. Kilda’s 1966 victory.

He later became an assistant-coach at Southport before rejoining the Lions as strength and conditioning coach. 

Author - Murray Bird and Peter Blucher