MIDFIELDER/forward Jay Kennedy Harris has forced his way back into the side through strong performances with Casey Demons in the VFL, says assistant coach Ben Mathews.

Mathews, the stoppage and contest coach, said Kennedy Harris, who is set to play his first match for the season against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Saturday, had earned his promotion.

Kennedy Harris had 25 disposals and kicked three goals in the VFL last weekend.

“He’s been working with the forwards and mids. [Coaches] Matty Egan and ‘Twig’ (Jade) Rawlings have done a terrific job getting him up,” he told Melbourne Media.  

“Jay’s past five or six weeks – they’re really worked closely with him – in terms of his ability to continually provide sustained efforts to compete at a high level of VFL football that translates over to AFL football.

“He’s played inside mid, wing, forward and has had a significant impact on games, which is fantastic for him. When a player does that work and invests in that work, it’s great to see them get the result.

“It’s a fitting reward to see Jay get his reward in round 17 of the season and we’re looking forward to seeing him play.”

Although Mathews was delighted for Kennedy Harris, he was disappointed for Billy Stretch, who impressed upon his return against Fremantle in Darwin last round, only to be now sidelined with a toe injury indefinitely.

“Billy worked so hard for six to seven weeks to return to the AFL side and he took his opportunity with both hands, but unfortunately he’s become injured,” he said.

“It’s just the luck of football sometimes. He’s put some much damn hard work in and sometimes you like to see some luck go their way. But football can be a bugger of a game sometimes – even though it’s a great game – it can be unfair sometimes.

“In typical Stretchy style, he’s already positive about his rehab, even though he’s disappointed with the news. He’ll bounce back as quickly as possible and be guided by the medicos, as he’s got a crack in his toe.

“Everyone has got around Bill and will continue to – that’s for sure.”

Mathews said the win over Fremantle at TIO Stadium last Saturday night had put the team in good stead, after it broke a three-match losing streak.

“The mood around the place has been positive. It hasn’t been a rough month, but it’s been challenging – for sure. But to get the win against Fremantle in Darwin was really positive for the group,” he said.

“It’s a reasonable trip, in terms of the demands, the flight and the heat and humidity – the temperature actually rose higher than we thought – but the positive is that you do recover well from the heat.

“So, we’ve come back and recovered really well over the week – the boys have put in a really strong effort to ensure they’ve recovered for this round’s game against the Bulldogs.”

Mathews said the Bulldogs would be a tough opponent, given they knocked over Geelong at Etihad Stadium in round 15. 

“They were very good against the Cats, in a quality match, and then they played a strong first half against Hawthorn last week,” he said.

“So, the Dogs are playing some solid football and it’s going to take our best to beat them.