HE grew up in Bathurst as the son of a league legend, he even shares the same name as his father, but William Kennedy junior is no longer in the shadow of 'Bubba'.
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On Friday it was revealed that Kennedy, a fullback who's currently playing his fifth season in the NRL, has signed a two-year extension with the Cronulla Sharks.
It means Kennedy will stay in The Shire until at least the end of 2025 and potentially do something his father never did and reach 100 games in the top flight.
Friday night's clash with the Roosters, one his side won 22-12, was Kennedy's 68th NRL appearance.
His footwork and speed at which he injected himself into the line - something which has become a trademark - played a role in setting up one of three second half tries.
"We have a good playing group here and I love every one of them and the coaching staff as well, so I'm very excited to see where we can go," Kennedy said.
Though he is now 25, when Will junior was born, his father, better known as 'Bubba' was into his second season of a three-year stint with the Balmain Tigers.
That same year Bubba came off the bench and scored a try in NSW Country's 17-4 win over City, while he was Balmain's leading try scorer for the second consecutive season.
As well as making 61 appearances in the ARL, Bubba played more than 20 seasons in Western division competitions.
He's a Western Division champion, Group 10 premiership winner and life member.
As for Will junior, he played his early football with St Pat's as a five-eighth before heading to Sydney as a largely unheralded talent.
But he worked hard and in 2015, he was part of Cronulla's SG Ball squad. Initially Kennedy came off the bench as a hooker, but by the end of the season he was a fullback in a premiership winning outfit.
Kennedy has remained loyal to the club ever since. He played under 20s for the Sharks, graduated to play in the NSW Cup for feeder club Newtown, joined Cronulla's full-time NRL squad in 2018 and made his debut a year later.
He won the Porter-Gallen Medal as the club's best in 2021 and boasts 30 career tries. It's more than the 26 his dad scored for Balmain.
Having signed his extension this week, there will no doubt be more tries in Sharks colours to come for him as well.
"I love this club and I'm excited to stay here another two years, I love the joint," Kennedy said.
"It started at SG Ball, I came up from there with 20s, I played a bit of [NSW] Cup with Newtown, and I'm happy to stay here and play NRL.
"It's been a long journey, but I'm excited to see where it's going to go."
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon had made no secret of his desire to keep Kennedy at the club, saying: "The players love him, players love playing alongside him."
He was delighted the Sharks have secured the fullback for another two seasons, joining the likes of other back line talents in Nicho Hynes, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Siosifa Talakai, Jesse Ramien in renewing their contracts in recent weeks.
"Will is a player who works very hard at his game and his continued improvement and development is evidence of that," Fitzgibbon said.
"He has come through our pathways, winning an SG Ball and NSW Cup competition along the way and is a valuable member of our team, trusted by his team-mates and it is definitely a boost that he has re-signed and made the decision to remain at the club for a further two years."
After Friday's effort against the Roosters, Kennedy has made 915 running metres for season, is the Sharks' second leading try scorer with six and made 15 tackle breaks.
They are statistics which no doubt make Bubba one very proud dad.
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