Josh Kennedy says Hawthorn continue to set the benchmark for the competition following their 14-point loss to the Hawks on Saturday night.
Kennedy was again outstanding with four goals, remaining atop the Coleman Medal leaderboard with 62 goals, but the Hawks' class prevailed in a late surge, underpinnomg why they have won the last two premierships.
Kennedy told The Sunday Footy Show he was proud of the way the young Eagles side stood up to the experienced Hawks.
“It’s always a challenge playing against Hawthorn, they’re the benchmark of the competition,” he said.
“I think we fought it out pretty well, but towards the end there Mitchell, Cyril Rioli and their key players really stood up and they were able to get the four points.
“Full credit to Hawthorn and the way they stood up in that last quarter, but there were definitely some critical moments in the game that didn’t go our way and we couldn’t get on the scoreboard.
“Full credit to Hawthorn, they’re a fantastic side, and they stood up in that last half.”
Hawthorn totalled 101 tackles, the highest in their history, which meant the Eagles struggled at times to move the ball freely to their potent forward line.
“The pressure was on, it was very heated,” he said.
“We didn’t get much supply inside 50 and I think it was due to that, the Hawthorn midfield were able to put a lot of pressure on our guys and there wasn’t much clean footy coming forward.”
But the young Eagles outfit will no doubt take many lessons out of such a high-intensity game against one of the greatest teams the AFL has seen.
The challenges don’t get any easier with league-leaders Fremantle awaiting West Coats in round 20, and Kennedy says the Eagles are excited about facing their cross-town rivals.
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“The last three or four years Freo have had it over us and we haven’t been able to get a Derby win,” he said.
“Now we’re both up the top (of the ladder) and we’re playing some good footy it’s going to be a real challenge.
“We’re all pretty excited; we’re all going to be up and about this week looking forward to playing against Freo.”
