AN NRL debut and contract extension, a man of the match performance in Newtown's remarkable Canterbury Cup grand final win and a State Championship victory - by any measure William Kennedy's season 2019 was one to remember.
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And now the star fullback has earned one more honour, with New South Wales Rugby League rating Kennedy as the best player in the talent-packed Newtown Jets outfit for 2019.
While Kennedy earned plenty of praise following his two NRL appearances for the Sharks - filling in for the absent Matt Moylan - it was for the Jets that he really shone.
His counter-attacking runs, support play and try-scoring ability was a feature of his performances, with Kennedy being named the Canterbury Cup's best fullback for 2019.
Those qualities were on display in the 20-15 grand final win over the Wentworthville Magpies, a match in which Kennedy scored the winning try in extra-time. It was a performance which saw him get the nod as the Jets' best from nswrl.com.au.
"You can't look past the efforts of grand final hero William Kennedy," nswrl.com.au said in its season review.
"He finished the Canterbury Cup NSW season with 16 tries, 15 line-breaks, eight try-assists, and 104 tackle-breaks - rightfully earning an NRL debut with the Sharks in round six against the Panthers.
"While he was consistent across all of his 23 appearances, his stunning man of the match performance in the decider was arguably his best.
"He recorded three line-breaks, seven tackle-breaks, 248 metres and two tries - one of which being the match-defining four-pointer."
Importantly for Kennedy, his efforts also caught the eye of Sharks coach John Morris.
Although Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan - both proven fullbacks - are contracted with Cronulla for another two seasons, Morris said Kennedy is "a big game player and he's got NRL written all over him".
"I've seen him come right through from SG Ball level and at every level, and he's just got better and better," he said.
"He came through as a half early in his career, but just the way he moves he's so flighty. It just comes natural to him, that fullback play, so that's where his strength is and he'll be knocking on the door next year to try and grab that number one jersey."
Meanwhile, Will Kennedy's sister Kandy Kennedy took part in an Women's Indigenous All Stars selection camp on the weekend.
The South Sydney talent was one of 36 squad members put through their paces ahead of the February 22 All Stars match, which will be played at the Gold Coast's Cbus Stadium.
Second-rower Kennedy, who scored two tries in her eight appearances for the Rabbitohs in the NSW Women's Premiership this season, played 25 minutes of this year's All Stars clash against New Zealand Maori.
Selector Dean Widders praised the quality of the squad, saying "the current crop of female Indigenous players is the best I've seen".
