Following three consecutive wins, including a confidence boosting win over last year’s grand finalists Fremantle in round five and a 79-point win over the Brisbane Lions last weekend, the star midfielder said he was confident his side were ready for this week’s challenge.
“I think this is a really good test and internally that’s what it’s all about,” Kennedy said.
“Since the win against Freo - they were quality opposition - we’ve been able to build on that over the last two weeks and now we come up against Hawthorn.
“We hope to prove to ourselves that we’ve really improved on our form from the start of the year and we believe that we can beat anybody on any given day.”
The Hawks have lost just one match this season, and will travel to Sydney with plenty of confidence following their dominant 145-point win over St Kilda last weekend, which them re-claim top spot on the AFL ladder.
Speaking to media ahead of the club’s main training session on Wednesday, Kennedy said relentless pressure was the key for an upset victory this week.
“We’ve got a different game plan in some respects, but theirs is always changing as well,” he said.
“We value our defensive side of the game and the pressure acts.
“I think if we can bring that same intensity that we did against Fremantle then we can really trouble their kicking and short possession game.
“We know they are obviously a really, really, skilful side and we’ve got to try to shut that down as quickly as possible.”
Wednesday evening’s training session will be an important one for the Swans, with key forwards Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett needing to prove their fitness ahead of Friday’s blockbuster clash.
Should the pair get through, Friday night’s match will be the first time the pair will play together in the red and white.
“Like everyone else, I’m pretty excited about having the prospect of those two down there, as well as Goodesy and Reidy at times,” Kennedy said.
“I guess we’ll find out tonight.
“Everyone is pretty keen for them to play, the players included, so it’s going to be a big few hours coming up.
“Hopefully they get through and get up for Friday night.”
While questions marks still remain over the pair’s fitness, Kennedy said the Swans were confident in the team’s ability with or without the key talls.
“I think any player who takes the field on Friday night will have confidence that we can kick the right score,” he said.
“It’s pretty clear what each player’s role is within the team and if they all do that to the best of their ability then we’re confident that we can beat anybody.”
Josh Kennedy at Swans training on the SCG this evening
