West Coast forward Josh Kennedy kicks 700th career goal on grim night for Eagles

West Coast forward Josh Kennedy gave Eagles fans something to cheer about on a disastrous night after kicking his 700th career goal.

Amid a mauling from the Tigers, Kennedy gave the thinning Optus Stadium crowd a reason to see out the final term despite the margin growing beyond three figures.

Of his 700, just 11 were kicked at his first club, Carlton, with the 689 that followed all in blue and gold for West Coast – including four against Richmond on Friday night.

Already the club’s all-time leading goal scorer, Kennedy became the first Eagles player to reach the milestone, drawing level with Fremantle legend Matthew Pavlich to tie for equal 25th on the all-time AFL record list.

Kennedy thanked the fans for their support and the standing ovation.

“It’s funny, I don’t really keep tally until someone put it in the paper and then you’re mates are texting you and then Mum comes down to the footy to watch just in case,” Kennedy told 6PR.

“As much as you’re thinking about that, the game was very disappointing. Losing by over 100 points, wasn’t fantastic, but we’ll keep building from there.”

COUNTDOWN TO KENNEDY’S 700

697: Kennedy touched the football just once in the first term but made his presence felt to start the second half.

The 34-year-old took a good contested grab off the boot of Xaiver O’Neill before going back and kicking truly to give the Eagles the perfect start.

698: The umpire gave Kennedy the benefit of the doubt, despite giving Richmond’s Noah Balta a nudge under the footy.

Snapping around his body on his non-preferred boot, Kennedy’s second of the night sailed through without fault.

699: Kennedy kicked the penultimate goal at the four-minute mark of the final term.

On the back of another strong contested grab in a pack, the two-time Coleman medallist notched up goal 699 to get the Eagles back to under a 100-point deficit.

700: It took until the 22-minute mark but Kennedy hit 700 – to rapturous applause.

Despite the club’s thrashing, Eagles fans gave their champion forward the respect he deserves.

A cheer rung out across Optus Stadium, with the remaining fans giving Kennedy a standing ovation.