William Kennedy (rugby league, born 1997)

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).

William Kennedy
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Kennedy Jr
Born (1997-04-18) 18 April 1997 (age 27)
Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight88 kg (13 st 12 lb)
Playing information
PositionFullback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019– Cronulla Sharks 88 39 0 0 156
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022 Indigenous All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 28 April 2024

Background edit

Kennedy 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 edit

2019 edit

In 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 edit

In 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 edit

In 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 edit

In 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]

Statistics edit

NRL 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 * 7 2 8
Career totals 87 39 0 0 156

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

  1. ^ a b Rugby League Project
  2. ^ "Round 6 NRL squad announcements". NRL.com. 18 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Debutant Watch Canterbury Cup NSW Rd 1". www.nswrl.com.au.
  4. ^ "Cronulla Sharks win scrappy clash with Dragons; Canberra Raiders beat Wests Tigers with dominant second half". www.abc.net.au.
  5. ^ "Diabolical' Cowboys roasted after extending winless start to 2021 season against Sharks". wwos.nine.com.au.
  6. ^ "Trbojevic in a class of his own as Sea Eagles set sights on Storm". www.nrl.com.
  7. ^ "'They cannot attract big names': Ennis savages Tigers as star prop snubs Madge". www.foxsports.com.au.
  8. ^ "Papenhuyzen back to best as Storm secure minor premiership". www.nrl.com.
  9. ^ "Cronulla beat New Zealand Warriors despite send off". www.foxsports.com.au.
  10. ^ "Holmes' field goal leads Cowboys to prelim as Taumalolo stuns in golden point epic: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au.
  11. ^ "Reece Walsh stars as Brisbane Broncos beat Cowboys 28-16 in Queensland NRL derby, Cronulla edges Parramatta 30-26 in thriller". www.abc.net.au.
  12. ^ "Sharks skipper's big prediction after William Kennedy burns Bulldogs with hat-trick". wwos.nine.com.au.
  13. ^ "Sydney Roosters score 'wild' 13-12 NRL elimination final win over Cronulla Sharks, Penrith Panthers beat Warriors". www.abc.net.au.

External links edit