Swans coach Roos backs returning Kennelly to shine

SYDNEY SWANS coach Paul Roos has predicted big things for Tadhg Kennelly this year after a pre-season campaign in which the 2009 All-Ireland medallist has greatly impressed.

“He’s a terrific player, a really important player for us, but I think Tadhg will be the first to admit that we’re not just relying on him to get back up the ladder,” Roos said.

“It’s got to be across the board improvement but he’s a great leader who leads by example and then obviously his footy’s pretty good too.”

Kennelly’s return to the Swans has been all the more welcome for Roos, who watched last September’s All-Ireland final in Dublin, given the loss of key players such as Barry Hall, Mick O’Loughlin, Jared Crouch and Leo Barry.

However, Kennelly has returned refreshed and reinvigorated from his season in Ireland and Sydney have shown enough in pre-season to suggest a return to form after missing out on the play-offs in 2009.

Sydney’s season opens this Saturday with a home tie in the ANZ Stadium against Tommy Walsh’s St Kilda and the Listowel man is looking forward to what he hopes will be a healthy and successful campaign.

“I wasn’t happy with the way I finished here in ‘07 and ‘08. I had injuries and I wasn’t able to play the way I wanted to play,” he said. “Now I’ve been a year out of the game, I’ve finished at home doing something I always wanted to do. I thought, ‘You know what? I want another challenge. Let’s see if I can go back to Australia and get to the level I want to as a footballer again’.”

Comparisons are already being made to the 2003 season when the Swans lost a number of senior players during the off-season and proceeded to confound expectations by finishing fourth and reach the play-offs.

“There’s great excitement amongst the team and it really has the feeling of 2003,” said Kennelly. “We’re very unpredictable and we’re quietly confident. The whole AFL world are putting us down, which is great. The Swans love being underdogs.”