Eagles boss reveals Kennedy’s keen, Hurn locked in

West Coast remain optimistic champion forward Josh Kennedy will play on in 2022, despite the 34-year-old telling last week’s grand final function he is yet to make up his mind.

Kennedy kicked 41 goals for West Coast in 2021; the second best return behind Jack Darling.

He’s played 278 games, including 256 for West Coast, and remains the club’s key target up forward.

Nisbett said he was confident Kennedy would continue, and confirmed veteran Shannon Hurn will extend his record Eagles games run.

“I am assuming (Kennedy) is playing,” he said.

“The conversations I have had with Josh have been, ‘Look let’s give it a little bit of time’. But when we have said: ‘What are you thinking?’, he is thinking at the moment he would like to play on and we are happy for him to do that.

“I think it is just a time thing with him. Over the next couple of weeks, we will try and grab him for half an hour and see where he is at but I think he is very positive about it.

“And Shannon is definitely going to play. That is done.”

The new deal for Hurn and the likely signing of Kennedy means there’s just a few Eagles without a deal, after Josh Rotham signed a three-year contract on Tuesday.

First round draft pick Jarrod Brander remains “tradeable”, with Nisbett confirming West Coast would be willing to consider swapping him for Sam Petrevski-Seton if Brander wanted to join Carlton.

“I saw where Carlton have shown some interest. I know Hawthorn have and I think Geelong have shown some fleeting interest,” Nisbett said.

“He wants more opportunity and if he ended up at Carlton and then we talked to Carlton about the options for him — they are both first round picks so it probably makes some sense.”