Kerry's Tadhg Kennelly helped to virtually guarantee the safe passage of the Sydney Swans into the knockout stages of the AFL in Sydney yesterday.
The Listowel native helped himself to his first goal of the season as the Swans overcame the Brisbane Lions in style at the Telstra Stadium. The Swans produced a majestic performance to win by 124-40 against the team that knocked them out of the competition at the semi-final stage in 2003.
The Lions have won the competition outright twice in the last three years and now face a dogfight as they are locked in a tie with four other teams seeking to claim the final two play-off positions available.
Following the victory, Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos expressed his delight at the performance. He said: "Hopefully we will get some belief out of the game as we have played a quality side with a few injuries and beaten them, and hopefully that will transpire into next week against the Kangaroos at the SCG (Sydney Cricket Grounds)."
Since making the switch to Australia in 2001 Kennelly has enjoyed steady progress and is a regular in the Swans side. He also scored a memorable goal in the 2003 loss to the Lions.
The Swans now lie in fourth position on the AFL ladder and will attempt to maintain a top four position to avoid the stronger teams in the play-offs. The top eight teams will play-off following the conclusion of the league fixtures in two weeks' time.
