Luke Kennedy finishes ahead of Marcus Bontempelli and Cody Weightman in the Bulldogs’ time trial.
WESTERN Bulldogs draftee Luke Kennedy has made an eye-catching early impression in his first pre-season by winning the 2km time trial at the Whitten Oval.
With the senior group reporting back for pre-season on Monday, Kennedy led captain Marcus Bontempelli home, just ahead of small forward Cody Weightman.
The 18-year-old was selected at pick No.62 – the Bulldogs’ fifth and final pick – in last month’s Telstra AFL Draft, after a strong season for the Sandringham Dragons, where he finished second in the best and fairest in a premiership year.
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Joel Freijah won the 2km time trial when the first-to-fourth-year group reported back for training last Monday – Lachie McNeill finished second, while Jordan Croft placed third – but would have struggled to hold off Kennedy, who ran the third quickest time at the state combine in October.
Sam Davidson finished just behind that trio on Monday to highlight his tank, less than a fortnight after the 22-year-old was plucked from Richmond’s VFL program at pick No.51, extending the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal streak to 18.
Bontempelli won his sixth Charles Sutton Medal this year, along with a sixth All-Australian blazer – he was named All-Australian captain for the first time – and a third Leigh Matthews Trophy, but still made an early statement with his running on day one of the pre-season.
Star spearhead Aaron Naughton will follow a modified program this side of Christmas after a season where the West Australian managed knee issues, following a medial collateral ligament injury in May.
Adam Treloar is also expected to be managed across the pre-season, like he has been in the past, but the 2024 All-Australian trained fully on Monday ahead of his 14th season in the AFL.
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While Caleb Daniel, Bailey Smith and Jack Macrae all departed during the trade period, Matt Kennedy was the only player to arrive at the kennel, amid a chaotic deadline day at Marvel Stadium.
Werribee captain Dom Brew didn’t train on Monday due to a niggle he suffered last week after being invited to audition for a spot on the rookie list during the pre-season supplemental selection period.
The Bulldogs currently have one spot open and can trial two players, with the club expected to provide Brew with ample opportunity to press his case for a long-awaited AFL contract. The 27-year-old won the J.J. Liston Trophy this year before leading the Bees to their first premiership in 31 years, as well as winning the coaches MVP award and team of the year honours, where he was named captain.
