Stawell Football Netball Club will welcome back former coach John Kennedy as guest speaker at the president’s luncheon later this month.
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Kennedy will address the large gathering on his playing and coaching days, which included a stint as coach of the Stawell Redlegs in 1965 and 1966.
The president’s luncheon is being held by the club to recognise Life Members and Sponsors.
It is an excellent way for the club to show its appreciation for the support and loyalty afforded it by the supporters and sponsors.
The president’s luncheon will be held upstairs in the function room from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.
John Kennedy Senior played 169 games for Hawthorn and won the club’s best and fairest on four occasions. he was captain of the Hawks from 1955 to 1959.
Kennedy coached Hawthorn for 299 games and won three premierships at the helm. he also coached North Melbourne for 113 games.
When he was teaching at the Stawell Technical School, Kennedy coached the Redlegs in seasons 1965 and '66 and also coached the Wimmera League interleague team in this time.
As a player, Kennedy was renowned for his toughness and skill.
As a coach, Kennedy has a similar reputation for toughness, but also for oratory. Kennedy is notorious for borrowing ideas from any source he thinks will inspire the players, but it is his passion rather than his quotations that he is best known for.
In the 1975 VFL Grand Final against North Melbourne, his exhortation to the Hawthorn players at half time was: "At least do something! Do! Don't think, don't hope, do! At least you can come off and say 'I did this, I shepherded, I played on. At least I did something.'" Despite this his team still lost convincingly.
Kennedy was an inaugural induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1999.
Kennedy's grandson Josh Kennedy was recruited by Hawthorn under the father/son rule in the 2006 AFL Draft. His son John Kennedy Jr. also played for the Hawks. Josh later left the Hawks and was recruited by Sydney, playing in their 2012 premiership win, ironically over Hawthorn.
Master of ceremonies for the president’s luncheon will be WIN Television presenter, Wes Cusworth.
The club is hopeful of attracting at least 120 people to the upstairs function.
There are limited tickets available to the function for members of the general public and supporters for the duration of the president’s luncheon. These are available at a cost of $25 which includes a light luncheon and drinks. The cost does not include entry to the game. For enquiries please call Mark Stainsby on 0437 583 339.