WE HEAR a lot about what coaches give to players, but what do the players give back? 

In 2020, Matthew Kennedy gave Luke Power a gift he wasn’t quite expecting. 

Having a long relationship with Kennedy from their days together at Greater Western Sydney, Power invited Kennedy to stay with his family while he was between places – and Kennedy brought the best of friends. 

“I’ve had quite a long relationship with Matt from our GWS days – Matty has always had a little bit of a spot in my heart: he’s a great kid,” Power said on the Summer Sessions podcast. 

“Just before the hub, he was between houses and he came and stayed with my family, two young daughters and my wife and he brought his dog, Toby, with him.” 

Toby, the Australian Shepherd, became an instant family member in the Power household, particularly when he was under the care of the household when the men left for the Queensland hub. 

“Then we got called to the hub so Matt and I had to go and my family didn’t go up to Queensland but they took on Toby during the iso period,” he said.  

“They were rapt, they got rid of Dad and they had this beautiful Aussie Shepherd, so they were pretty happy with that deal.” 

Power’s daughters - who always wanted a canine friend - were understandably over the moon, but once the team returned at the end of the season, Toby had gone back with Kennedy.

It left Power to deal with the fallout, and he dealt with it the only way possible.

“We got back and I thought it was a little bit cruel of Matt to come and whisk Toby away and then leave me to deal with all the emotions,” he joked.  

“It took the girls a while to come back after that but one of the things I had to end up promising was that they’d get their own dog, so we went to the same breeder as Matt and we got an Aussie Shepherd - named Bear - for them. 

“They’ve now got the dog and I think it’s the favourite male in the family.”