Matthew Kennedy is a former Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (AFL). The son of St Kilda player Des Kennedy

Des Kennedy (Australian footballer)

Des Kennedy is a former Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League .Kennedy, aged just 19, won the "Best and Fairest" award at Sandringham in 1963...

, he was recruited from Queensland team, Southport. Kennedy played during the 1990s for both the Brisbane Bears

Brisbane Bears

The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995...

 and the Brisbane Lions

Brisbane Lions

The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...

after the Bears merged with Fitzroy. After 188 games of league football, he retired during the 2001 season, the year Brisbane won the first of their three consecutive flags.