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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2647847, member: 1899"] [b]Re: [RUMOUR] Kennedy leaving the Broncos[/b] [B]KENNEDY: LEAVING THE ROOSTERS WAS A MISTAKE[/B] [IMG]http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Martin-Kennedy1.jpg[/IMG] MARTY Kennedy struggles to put into words how grateful he is to get a second chance at the Roosters after a nightmare 12-month stint in Brisbane. “Put it this way – I would have played for nothing,” Kennedy says of his return to the Tricolours. “I am on cloud nine . . . I can’t tell you how happy I am. “You don’t often get a second chance in a game like ours and I am forever grateful. “The Roosters have thrown me this lifeline when I have been struggling and I am so determined to repay them. “I will be the ultimate clubman and give them 100 per cent every time I go around. “I maybe took a few things for granted before. After being away for a year, I realise what a great club the Roosters are and what gentlemen guys like Trent Robinson and Brian Canavan are. You can’t put a dollar value on people like them at a football club. “I grew up supporting the Roosters and had seven years there. “Leaving was a mistake – I can see that now.” Talk to Kennedy about that ‘mistake’ and things get interesting. The hard-running forward, who was 18th man for Mal Meninga’s Queensland Origin side in 2013, won’t go into specifics of his rumoured falling-out with Anthony Griffin and other figures at the club. But at the same time, he pulls no punches. “Look, it’s in the past and I just want to look forward and move on,” he says. “I will say this: my form suggested I didn’t settle in and I can’t say that I did. “If I was a better player and a better person, maybe I could have shut it all out and still played good footy. “Things were happening off the field that didn’t sit well with me and it affected me – I couldn’t block it out. “I went up there excited and looking forward to it and a few times during the year, I was under the illusion it was all settled. “But there were ongoing problems that just wouldn’t go away and they got to me.” At one stage, Griffin dropped Kennedy – one of the highest paid players in the Broncos’ ranks – to the Queensland Cup, fuelling the rumours that all was not well. “Funnily enough, that was probably the best thing that happened to me in my time up there,” Kennedy says. “They sent me to Ipswich – I played my junior footy there and supported them as a kid and have a lot of great memories of the place. “The Walker brothers (Ipswich coaches Ben and Shane) were great to me and I just went back to basics and started enjoying my footy again. “It was like a breath of fresh air.” After a couple of games for Ipswich mid-season, Kennedy won a recall to the top grade and played his best footy in his short stint at the Broncos in the run-in to the finals. “By then I had come to terms with the situation and, to be honest, I probably should have done that earlier,” he says. “I definitely played better in that latter bit of the season and it was disappointing to get bundled out in week one of the finals after we built up some momentum. “At the same time, it gave me some confidence and something to build on for next year. “I have no illusions about my ability and believe I can contribute to the Roosters again. It is a fresh start and I’ve got a big smile on my face every day. “I sat down with Trent a while back and told him I wanted to come home and he was very accommodating. He made me feel like I was coming back home . . . he is a great guy.” Kennedy has only good things to say about returning Broncos coach Wayne Bennett, who ultimately gave him the green light to head back to Bondi Junction. “Wayne was awesome,” he says. “I told him I wanted to move on and he could have made it difficult but he allowed me to go. “I respect him for that.” One of the reasons for Kennedy’s excitement is that he will be linking up with younger brother Sam at the Roosters. “He has just recently been appointed assistant strength and conditioning coach at the club and I am really happy for him,” Kennedy says. “He was an intern at the club when I had my last season there in 2013 and has been given his big break now. “I’m also living with him now I’ve come back to Sydney until I find my own place . . . so he is ordering me around at home and work!” [url=http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/kennedy-leaving-roosters-mistake/]KENNEDY: LEAVING THE ROOSTERS WAS A MISTAKE | Rugby League Week[/url] [/QUOTE]

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