CRONULLA coach John Morris has no doubt in his mind that Will Kennedy is NRL material and come this Saturday, the Bathurst talent has another chance to prove it.
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Kennedy made his return to Cronulla's starting line-up last weekend after a five-week absence. His efforts in the 46-10 win over the Warriors have seen him retained as fullback for Saturday's clash with St George Illawarra.
It's getting those consecutive games that Morris feels is key for the former St Pat's junior.
"Will, he's a real classy player. He had a couple of errors there [against Warriors] but he had a couple of real nice touches - he just needs back-to-back footy," the coach said.
"It's been hard because Matty Moylan's been there, Josh Dugan's been there. There's no doubt that Will Kennedy is a first-grader, but he just needs to be exposed to more back-to-back footy."
It was an injury to Moylan which saw Kennedy start the season at fullback for the Sharks. He played there the first five rounds and did a solid job.
So when Moylan was re-injured and Morris wanted Dugan's defensive skills in the centres, Kennedy was recalled for the Warriors match.
He marked his return by scoring the second try of his NRL career in the eighth minute following a centre-field scrum. He hit a Shaun Johnson pass at speed and sliced straight through the Warriors' defence.
Kennedy was also credited with an assist when his pass helped Jess Ramien cross in the second half. Amongst his other statistics for the game were four tackle breaks, 86 metres gained and 11 tackles.
"Performances like [that] certainly don't hurt him," Morris said.
"Will Kennedy is very good with his talk and getting all our numbers right behind the line."
Kennedy played in the Sharks' meeting with the Dragons earlier this season, a game his side lost 30-16. The Bathurst talent made 198 running metres in that defeat.
However, since then the Sharks have won four of their five matches to be on the cusp of the top eight.
The match at Kogarah Jubilee kicks off at 5.30pm.
