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Matthew Kennedy, Tom Liberatore, and Adam Treloar of the Western Bulldogs enjoyed an intimate encounter with the former royal on the field.
Kennedy, after confessing to feeling a bit awestruck, offered a thoughtful critique of Harry’s on-field skills.
“He might need to work on getting the ball to spin correctly,” he commented.
“There were a few errant throws, so that’s where he could start improving.”
In a gesture of camaraderie, the Bulldogs midfielder gifted Harry a team scarf, which the duke wore with pride for the remainder of his visit.
Kennedy joked that he might convince the duke to sign up as a Bulldogs member if his team can lock in a win on Friday.
“I think that’s gonna be pretty tough, but we’ll see how we go,” he laughed.
“Maybe we get the win this weekend, we can get him across.”
Kennedy, who welcomed his son Theo in 2024, said the pair also bonded over fatherhood.
“We spoke about a bit about his, sporting background with rugby, [a] bit about AFL and bit about our kids and stuff, it was a great opportunity,” Kennedy said.
“You don’t get to do that every day… it’s pretty awesome.”
Earlier, Treloar told reporters he thought Harry’s visit was a “big joke” until he saw the media start setting up.
He was chosen as one the players to kick the ball with Harry only yesterday.
“I still didn’t really believe it until he came walking out,” Treloar said.
“We don’t usually get that out here in Footscray, so it’s pretty cool.”
During his visit, Harry told the players he often followed the AFL fixtures from his home in the US.
“He was a little bit disappointed that we gave him a kid’s footy,” Treloar added.
“He wanted one of the, the real ones, but he went OK.”
Harry took to the field after joining a panel on mental health hosted by Melbourne-based charity Movember.
Harry and wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are focusing on events that champion community resilience, support for the armed forces and mental health during their whirlwind four-day visit.
It’s their first visit since their 2018 royal tour, and the first since they quit the monarchy in 2020.
The couple will head to Canberra, before returning to Melbourne for a brief visit and a stop in Sydney.
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