Reputation enough for Sydney Roosters women to lock in Bathurst gun Kandy Kennedy
WHEN it came to filling the seven spots left in the Roosters NRL women’s roster after their marquee signings, one player’s reputation was all that was needed.
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WHEN it came to filling the seven spots left in the Roosters NRL women’s roster after their marquee signings, one player’s reputation was all that was needed.
Actually, reputation was all the coaching staff had.
Kandy Kennedy hasn’t played since she was stretchered off during the All Stars game in February last year.
For 18 months she has been in her home of Bathurst recovering from a knee reconstruction after suffering a devastating ACL tear early in the Indigenous team’s historic first win over the Women’s All Stars in Newcastle in 2017.
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There were times she wondered if she’d ever play football again, let alone land a contract in the inaugural NRL competition.
So when Roosters recruit manager Craig Walker called her up, it’s fair to say she was surprised.
“I don’t even know (how it happened), they just called me up,” Kennedy said.
“It’s a big shock. They said they’d like to have a chat and I wasn’t 100 per cent sure if I was going to get contracted.
“I was, ‘Are you joking?’”
Walker and Roosters coach Adam Hartigan had heard good things about the halfback.
Indigenous All Stars coach Dean Widders, who is also a Roosters women’s assistant, endorsed her talent. Those in the NRL programs and pathways did so too.
But it was the backing of the players that sealed it.
She’s a player popular among teammates, talented with the ball, but her reputation in defence was really appealing.
“We’d heard Kandy, despite her very nice nature, she was quite a punishing defender, which we liked,” Walker said.
“We knew she was quite a good runner of the ball and had some impact, especially with her defence.
“She was a very popular member of the women’s group, which is always important with how everybody interacts and gets on.
“We had a number of high profile recruits, and though we hadn’t seen Kandy play, we’d heard a lot about her from good judges who put faith in her. The final one was her peers endorsing her.”
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It’s a relieving reward for what has been a long, hard road back to fitness for Kennedy.
She talks of the low moments when she was stuck at home, unable to work and support herself, when she was tempted to give it all away.
But a few things kept her going.
First is a competitive nature that comes out in the punishing defence everyone talks about.
There was the support from her parents and the Bathurst community, who never let her give up, even as she battled through training sessions knee brace and all.
Then there was the increased profile of the women’s game this year. Seeing her former teammates on television taking women’s rugby league to new heights kept the fire in Kennedy’s belly alight.
“I pretty much had nothing. I had to go on Centrelink. Things like that just put me back so much,” Kennedy said.
“People in Bathurst, the community, they helped me a lot. Believe Boot Camp, they’re the people that brought me in and helped me to get where I am today.
“My dad has been a huge part of it as well. He’s the one who would say, ‘C’mon get up, we’re going to training. I want you to be your best.’ My mum as well. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.
“I just thought maybe I’d come back and play regular comp footy, but watching all those girls playing made me feel like I was missing out.
“Once I came back, it was a big shock (when I heard from the Roosters). It was huge. I wasn’t expecting it at all.”
This week Kennedy moves to Sydney to start her time as a Rooster.
The competition is just three weeks away and she will play her first game since that fateful All Stars match next week in a trial against North Sydney women’s.
With so much time out of the game she’d be forgiven if she were concerned about taking the field again.
“I’m more excited than nervous, a little nervous but I’m ready and can’t wait to get back out on the field.”
Originally published as Reputation enough for Sydney Roosters women to lock in Bathurst gun Kandy Kennedy
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