After losing his father, Norwood’s Jacob Kennerley just wants to make his family proud
JACOB Kennerley describes it as “one long blur’’. At age nine, the happy Cummins farm boy arrived home from his Eyre Peninsula primary school to be rocked to his core.
JACOB Kennerley describes it as “one long blur’’.
At age nine, the happy Cummins farm boy arrived home from his Eyre Peninsula primary school to be rocked to his core.
“I found out the news that dad had passed away,’’ Kennerley said.
“He had committed suicide out of the blue. As a family we had no idea he had been having any mental health problems, he hadn’t shown any signs of it.
“We just thought he was like any old dad and were devastated by his passing. It took our family a long time to get over.’’
Kennerley, now 18 and on the verge of fulfilling his dream of being drafted by an AFL club, said he cannot remember too much of the year following his dad Brock's death.
“It is one long blur,’’ he said.
“I can’t remember much about what happened after that at all, only how strong mum was and how the community rallied behind us.
“Mum (Ingrid) was very strong and we had some really good people, a great friendship group, who provided support and helped us get through such a tough time.
“A lot of people came in and acted as my dad in the first year or two and there were lots of mentors I looked up to.
“They helped me, mum and my sister (Nikita, now 15) out when we most needed it and I'll be forever grateful for that.
“Fortunately we are all in a good place right now.’’
Kennerley speaks glowingly of his mum. He says he is indebted to her.
Instead of his family being torn apart by such a tragedy, Kennerley said Ingrid, along with his grandmother Jan, displayed remarkable resilience to keep the kids on track.
Brock had owned a farm machinery equipment business and the family had plans to subdivide their farm and work the land.
But when their world was turned upside down those dreams were shattered.
Ingrid went to work as office manager at the Cummins Mill and, knowing her son had shown talent as a young footballer — “dad was a good country footballer and put in a lot of hard work with me before he passed away, including teaching me how to kick a footy,’’ Kennerley said — plotted a move to Adelaide.
Kennerley moved to prestigious Rostrevor College for Year 10 and joined Norwood’s under-16s.
Three years later, the 185cm midfield running machine played in South Australia’s stunning AFL under-18s championship triumph and is almost certain to find an AFL home in the November 22-23 draft.
“It's been a pretty crazy ride,’’ Kennerley told The Advertiser.
“Since I was nine, mum has raised me and my sister as a single parent and has given me opportunities that I could only have dreamt of.
“I was an okay footballer back home (playing for Cummins Ramblers in the Great Flinders Football League) but I wasn’t sure how far I would be able to take my game.
“Mum gave me the opportunity to move to Adelaide for academic and sporting reasons.
“She felt I had some ability and that my best chance to make the most of it was to move to Adelaide and take up schooling there.
“She has been a real driver for me to keep pushing on and trying to do well.
“It was hard for me at the time, being the only man in the house back home and leaving mum and my sister there thinking that maybe they were doing things a little bit tougher than me.
“But mum gave me the support I needed and I am very grateful for that and want to make her proud.’’
Kennerley has done just that.
State under-18 coach Tony Bamford said Kennerley was “really stiff’’ to miss All-Australian under-18 selection this year after averaging 18 disposals, 396 metres gained and 85 ranking points.
“We played him on a wing and he had an excellent carnival,’’ Bamford said.
“He won plenty of the ball and provided lots of run for us, so AFL clubs knew he could play on the wing.
“But when he got back to Norwood he played as an inside mid and he did very well.
“So he’s shown AFL clubs that he play both as an inside and outside mid, which should help his draft standing.
“It would be a great story for Jacob to get drafted because his mum has done a great job of bringing him up and the whole Cummins community has rallied behind the family, so they are really invested in him too.’’
Kennerley illustrated his elite running ability when he won the 2km time trial in record fashion at last month's AFL Draft Combine in Melbourne, completing the test in 6:04 minutes — five seconds faster than previous record holder, Hawthorn’s Dylan Moore.
Remarkably, Kennerley slashed 18 seconds of his previous best time.
“Running has always been a strong point of my game but to set the record at the combine was pretty cool,’’ he said.
Kennerley, who models his game on star GWS midfielder Josh Kelly, has been interviewed by 16 AFL clubs, including his beloved Crows.
Only Port Adelaide and St Kilda have not spoken to him.
Kennerley said if he was lucky enough to be drafted he would dedicate his career to his family.
“I want to do dad proud, knowing that he is looking down on me,’’ he said.
“But it would be amazing to reward mum and grandma for everything they’ve done for me
and to know that their sacrifices and my hard work has paid off.
“Mum wasn't in the best position financially to send me to a private school but she backed me all the way. To repay her would be unreal.’’
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