WILL Kennedy will long remember season 2019 for being when he made his NRL debut, but come Sunday afternoon the Bathurst rugby league talent is chasing one more highlight.
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On Sunday Kennedy will be seeking a Canterbury Cup grand final success story when he lines up at fullback for the Newtown Jets and does battle with the Wentworthville Magpies.
It is a grand final that few predicted given the Jets and Magpies placed seventh and eighth respectively after the regular season, but for Kennedy that just adds to the occasion.
"I do think it's a bit weird, but it just shows how good a team we both are. It's really good," he said. "Everyone is pretty excited about it and how far we've come."
Kennedy, who made his NRL debut at fullback for the Cronulla Sharks in April, has been in brilliant form for the Jets during their finals campaign thus far.
His strong ball returns, safe pair of hands underneath the high ball and explosive acceleration have all been on show as the Jets have beaten Mounties (44-20), North Sydney (30-28) and St George (22-20) on route to Sunday's grand final.
It is the second grand final in as many years for the Jets, but Kennedy feels this year's squad is better placed to claim the premiership than the outfit which fell 18-12 to Canterbury-Bankstown 12 months ago.
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"It feels a little different to last year, we've got younger people in our side this year, but we're closer as a team I think. It's still pretty good," he said.
"The start of the games we weren't doing too well, but we worked on that. That first half last week was pretty good but we dropped off in the second half - we need to play that full 80 minutes to win the grand final, but hopefully that takes care of itself.
"The Jets club, their heritage is amazing, they have been around for a long time, so to win it for them would be amazing."
The Jets and Magpies have met twice previously this season and the head-to-head is split at one win apiece.
The Magpies were convincing 42-10 victors in round four, but in round 13 Kennedy was amongst the try scorers as the Jets bettered Wentworthville 22-10.
Kennedy said the key to winning on Sunday is high completion rates.
"I think we just need to hold the ball, when we're completing I think we can go well against any side in the comp. If we play well together, if we work well together, we'll win the game I think," he said.
"If we complete, if we hold the ball, we can beat any side in the competition so we're not too worried about what they're going to throw at us. We'll just worry about ourselves and hopefully we'll get the win."
The grand final kicks off at 3pm at Bankwest Stadium.
