Eagles champ Josh Kennedy to quit in August, says Sumich

West Coast champion spearhead Josh Kennedy will retire after the round 21 match against Adelaide, according to the player he replaced as the club’s leading goal-kicker.

And Peter Sumich said the 34-year-old Kennedy would not travel for the rest of his career and would only play the club’s next three home matches at Optus Stadium.

That would leave him alongside former Eagles captain Darren Glass on 270 games after a 17-year AFL career.

“Josh is going to finish after the Adelaide game,” Sumich said on SportFM’s Before the Footy.

“He won’t play any more away games and will finish in front of a home crowd during West Coast’s last home game at Optus.

“He won’t play the Western Derby the week later because that is a Fremantle home game and West Coast will finish in Geelong.”

Kennedy’s five goals in the 10-point win over Essendon on Friday took him to 698 in 267 games for the club.

He also kicked another 11 goals in 22 matches for Carlton at the start of the century before coming home as part of the trade with Brownlow medallist Chris Judd.

Kennedy was a member of the 2018 premiership team and has been one of the club’s greatest players who won consecutive Coleman medals in 2015 and 2016 as the competition leading goal-kicker.

Sumich kicked 514 goals in 150 games from 1989 to 1997, including West Coast’s first two premierships.

Sumich also called on the Eagles to trade veterans Jack Darling, Andrew Gaff and Jamie Cripps in a bid to improve their draft position this year.

He suggested Darling, who turned 30 this month and is approaching 500 goals, would be worth a late first-round pick.

By John Townsend

IMAGE: AFL.