Star Carlton midfielder Matt ‘Chugga’ Kennedy has made a late dash to Brisbane after watching his wife Maryanne give birth.
Kennedy caught a flight out of Melbourne on Friday evening after his new son arrived right on time.
Kennedy had been named in the team that is taking on the Lions at the Gabba tonight (Saturday) in a cut-throat final, but that would have been in serious question if the birth was a day or two later.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
The baby born on Thursday with Maryanne sharing picture of the new arrival on Saturday morning.
“Theodore James Kennedy … You have our hearts little man 🤍,” she said.
Fans and friends were quick to comment the gorgeous photo, with many saying the same thing.
“He’s perfect!! Congratulations guys ❤️❤️,” Kirsten McGovern said, the wife of Matt’s teammate Mitch.
And a friend said, “Congrats Mezz!! ❤️❤️❤️ he is perfect!!”
Monique Cripps, the wife of Carlton captain Patrick Cripps, also chipped in with: “Mouse in da house ❤️.”
It has been a challenging season for Carlton and they only stumbled into the finals after battling injury after injury.
They have brought in six players to face Brisbane for their elimination final and would have been breathing a huge sigh of relief when Kennedy boarded his flight.
Kennedy is only one of three players (Cripps and veteran Nick Newman are the others) to have played every game this season.
He joked with AFL.com.au that being a sub for a few games had been part of the reason he had been able to keep going week in and week out.
“I actually had it as a bit of a goal at the start of the year, I’d never played every single home and away game,” he said.
“I’m not sure if that’s had anything to do with it, but I think I just valued the little things throughout the week.
“I’ve always been pretty diligent with recovery, but I’ve almost had the mindset of achieving that goal and maybe that’s helped to try and play every game. I’m not sure.
“I’m probably lucky because sometimes in football, you can’t help it. I’ve mainly been a bit more midfield, but this year I’ve been forward, mid, back a little bit, ruck a little bit. It’s not as bash and crash, so that’s probably helped as well.”