PREMIERSHIP medallion, All Australian honours, Bob Skilton Medal, yet to miss a game – Josh Kennedy's three-year run as a Sydney Swan has been some sort of fairy tale.
He finished third and equal-second respectively in the club best and fairest before romping home by a massive 172 votes in a flag-winning year.
The competition's barometer for clearances and contested possessions over the past two seasons, Kennedy is setting the standard for consistency and effort at a club that demands those traits.
But the son of Hawthorn great John Kennedy jr, and grandson of coaching ornament John Kennedy sr, has no intention of sitting back and admiring his achievements since moving to the harbour city.
Heading into 2012, Kennedy targeted goalkicking as an area of focus, having returned just 10.19 the previous season.
And he responded by kicking 29.13 for the year – more than doubling his career goals tally – including two pivotal majors in the Grand Final triumph over the Hawks.
One of the most powerfully built midfielders in the competition, Kennedy's bread and butter is dominating possession in the engine room, but he is always looking to develop and tweak his style.
"I certainly don't want to go backwards," Kennedy said.
"I'm always looking to improve.
"There are little things I can tweak, maybe playing a few different positions, getting more on the outside.
"But I just need to make sure the essence of my game is as strong as it's always been."
He has picked up silverware on a regular basis in red and white, including the 2011 Paul Roos Award for best finals player and the inaugural Brett Kirk Medal for last year's opening Sydney derby against Greater Western Sydney.
And if he continues on his current path, a Brownlow Medal wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility.
Trent Cotchin was the Brownlow fancy in the AFL captain's poll revealed this week, with the Richmond captain joining former recipients Gary Ablett, Jobe Watson and Dane Swan as the frontrunners with bookmakers.
But it would be foolish to discount Kennedy, who is starting to catch the umpire's eyes.
He polled just three votes in 2011, but that ballooned to 19 last season as his recognition grew.
Now Kennedy's incredible consistency has teammates believing he could be a chance of joining Adam Goodes (2003, 2006) and Paul Kelly (1995) as modern-day Swans to claim the game's highest individual honour.
"Definitely. He had a great year last year. Just ask him, he'll tell you," teammate Heath Grundy joked of Kennedy, who has played 73 consecutive games with the Swans.
"No, definitely (he's a chance), Joey was fantastic last year and he's very consistent now and he's found his niche in the middle.
"I'm sure he'll have a pretty solid year again."
LATEST BROWNLOW MEDAL ODDS:
- $9 Trent Cotchin (Rich), Gary Ablett (GC), Jobe Watson (Ess), Dane Swan (Coll)
- $11 Patrick Dangerfield (Ade), Sam Mitchell (Haw)
- $13 Scott Pendlebury (Coll), Nathan Fyfe (Fre)
- $15 Chris Judd (Carl)
- $17 Scott Thompson (Ade), Marc Murphy (Carl)
- $21 Josh Kennedy (Syd)
- $26 Joel Selwood (Geel)
Odds courtesy of TAB Sportsbet
Josh Kennedy is a midfielder in NAB AFL Fantasy. He averaged 101.68 points in 2012. Register your team at our AFL Fantasy Hub
James Dampney is a reporter for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD
