ONLY Lance Franklin can match West Coast's Josh Kennedy for all-round dominance as a key forward in the AFL, according to Eagles assistant coach Dean Cox.
Kennedy will play his 150th game with little fanfare this week at Blundstone Arena in Hobart against North Melbourne on Sunday.
The 27-year-old is six goals clear in the race for the Coleman Medal after kicking 37 majors in the first nine rounds.
Cox, the Eagles' games record-holder and current ruck coach, believes Kennedy is the equal of Franklin, in terms of the influence he can have on games.
"I think he's up there with the best forwards," Cox told AFL.com.au.
"Maybe only Buddy has the impact he does, but probably in a little bit of a different way to JK.
"I think if he's not the most dominant forward in the comp, he's certainly second."
Cox has seen the evolution of Kennedy first-hand. Kennedy came to West Coast in the famous exchange for Eagles captain Chris Judd at the end of 2007.
Blues fans have watched with envy as Kennedy has kicked 314 goals in 127 appearances since.
Carlton's leading goalkickers in the same period are Eddie Betts (230) and Brendan Fevola (187).
Cox said he hoped Kennedy would live up to expectations when the forward arrived at the club but according to the coach, Kennedy's goals aren't the most impressive aspect of his game.
"There was hype about how good he could be and when he first got to the football club the biggest thing that stood out was how hard he works," Cox said.
"He's getting everything out of the work rate that he puts in in training and pre-season.
"It's an absolute pleasure to watch now as a coach. He really sets the standard in that area."
Kennedy's work rate was also the thing that impressed Adam Simpson the most when he arrived at the club.
Simpson had viewed Kennedy as a pure goalkicker while working as an assistant coach at Hawthorn but saw something different when he started at West Coast at the end of 2013.
"From a distance, I think you probably look at his scoreboard impact," Simpson said.
"Internally, we look at what he does off the ball and he's probably the hardest working defensive type of forward who kicks lots of goals."
Kennedy has added another element to his game this season by improving his strength in the weights room to become a better one-on-one player.
"It's something that he focused on in the off-season - seeing if he could carry a bit more weight, and still maintain his athletic profile," Simpson said.
"Credit to him and the fitness department. They've found the balance and he's able to stand up for a bit longer in games and quite often he's competing one against two or three."
