Suns’ McKenzie to crack a ton at last
GOLD Coast Suns defender Trent McKenzie can relate to every cricketer’s nightmare of being stuck in what they call the nervous nineties.
The booming left-footer has spent almost a year waiting for his 100th AFL appearance to come around – and now has the chance to bring up three figures after being confirmed as a starter against Sydney at the SCG on Saturday.
McKenzie has been stuck on 99 AFL games since Round 15 last year and admitted he has been frustrated sitting in the wings waiting.
“Yes, it was starting to get to me a bit,” McKenzie said of his time in exile.
“It has been almost a year now but now I’ve finally got the nod I’ll be ready to go on the weekend, that’s for sure.”
McKenzie’s 2016 campaign was littered with injuries.
It started in Round 3 with a broken nose; he did an ankle in Round 6; after returning to the AFL he was out again after injuring a quad in Round 15; he then played two game in the NEAFL but missed the rest of the season with a groin strain.
Suns coach Rodney Eade said McKenzie’s reaction when told he will be playing against the Swans said it all.
“Trent has had a bit of a bad run with his injuries,” Eade said.
“At the start of year he missed some pre-season games with an ankle then he hurt his hamstring or quad again.
“Now he has been back in for five weeks in the seconds. His first couple were steady but the last two have been pretty good so he has deserved his elevation.
“He’s a pretty cool, low-key individual and if the wait was stressing him I don’t know, but
when I told him yesterday he broke out into a big grin.”
It was inevitable that McKenzie fielded so many queries about when he could crack the ton of games that he quickly tired of the matter.
“It was like I was always linked to Shane Warne and him getting out on 99,” McKenzie said.
But when told three class batsmen – Steve Waugh, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid – were dismissed 10 times in the 90s during their Test careers, McKenzie took some confidence from that.
“One hundred is only a number but it definitely did cross my mind a few times,” he admitted.
“Especially the last few weeks because the body has felt good so I knew if I could play some good footy my chance wasn’t too far away.”
McKenzie is contracted to the Suns until the end of this year and will wait until then before starting negotiations.
“All I’m thinking about is this week pretty much,” McKenzsie said.
“I’ll let that (contract talks) take care of itself at the end of the year. Right now I’m happy to be back out there.”
The Suns face a possible selection dilemma for the SCG clash with the Swans.
Sydney have only two tall forwards (Buddy Franklin and Sam Reid) so it may come down to the Suns leaving out one of their key defenders, although it will not be co-captain Steven May.
YES, IT WAS STARTING TO GET TO ME A BIT. IT HAS BEEN ALMOST A YEAR NOW BUT NOW I’VE FINALLY GOT THE NOD. TRENT McKENZIE