Newly anointed Sydney captain Josh Kennedy has opened up on how he has personally coped with losing the Swans’ two most recent Grand Final appearances.
Sydney, who were heavy favourites heading into both the 2014 and 2016 premiership deciders, fell just short of claiming the club’s sixth premiership last year after being overrun in the final term by a rampant Western Bulldogs, two years after being the victim of a 63 point thrashing at the hands of Hawthorn.
Kennedy, who was one the Swans' standout performers in both of the losses, says the contrast in feelings between the club’s underdog 2012 premiership success and the more recent defeats has taught him a lot in how to approach the season deciding match should he ever feature in the game again.
“I think I’ve learned lot from those two experiences,” the Swans midfielder said on SEN Breakfast.
“I think it is not taking anything for granted and I am certainly hungry to get back there again and try and get another win because it was a really special day.
“I want to hopefully learn from those two losses as much as possible and try and impart some sort of wisdom on the guys that if you get another opportunity, they don’t come easy and they’re even harder to win.
“We can’t do anything about (the two losses) now, just try and win another one.”
However the 28-year-old stopped short of calling the two defeats a driving force this season, instead calling the inner self-belief his side holds as the motivation the Swans need to go one step further than last year.
“We have an opportunity I believe with the playing group and the way we are playing at the moment to have another crack,” said Kennedy.
“I firmly believe that we can be up there again this year.
“Rather than try and make amends or get redemption for what happened last year, it’s more about the opportunity we have this year.”
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