Kennedy becomes first Giants senior men's centurion

Kennedy will bring up his 100^th match for the tier one squad this Saturday at home in the opening Bathurst derby of the season against the Bushrangers.

It will be a special day not only for Kennedy but the Giants as a whole, as the club celebrates the Oscar Mann Memorial Round at George Park 1.

Kennedy was a part of the Giants' first senior men's side in 2016 and has remained an important piece of the team over more than eight years in the team.

When looking back on his time with the club Kennedy believes one of the most satisfying things has been seeing the Giants' junior program paying dividends.

"I think the best thing has been seeing the young talent develop into the leaders at the club," he said.

"You've got Sam Sloan, Jacob Molkentin and Bailey Brien, who all started as juniors, and our now the two coaches and captain of the teams. It's been awesome to see them develop."

Kennedy has so far racked up 170 senior men's appearances in AFL Central West.

"I'd say it feels like it's come around pretty quick," Kennedy said of the century with Giants.

"You don't usually get the opportunity to move to a new club from the start and develop to where it is now. That's been something really good to be a part of."

No memory at the club is greater for Kennedy than last year's maiden grand final triumph for the team.

Giants took out last year's decider 16.17 (113) to 11.9 (75) over the Bushrangers to fulfil a goal nearly a decade in the making.

Kennedy said the premiership was something that had been building for the Giants

"We had so much young talent in juniors and I think when a lot of them started coming through into seniors that's when we thought that we might be able to have a good crack," he said.

"Last year was very exciting. For all the hard work from the committee, the people who started the club, all the coaching staff and all the people who had been involved for the past nine years it was really great to see them get a reward."

Both Bathurst men's teams come into this weekend's game off encouraging round one victories, as do their tier two squads.

Giants will be targeting a sixth straight win over the Bushrangers.

"This matchup being the same as the last couple of grand finals goes to show the quality of AFL football in Bathurst," Kennedy said.

"To be able to each put two strong competitive teams out there is great. Both our second grade teams ended up getting wins last week as well."

First bounce in the tier one match at George Park 1 is 2.15pm.