Ex-saint to cross country in AFL bid
Former St Kilda winger Dan Mckenzie will cross the country this weekend as he starts a second audition for an AFL list spot.
The 73-game Saint was due to play in Fremantle’s intraclub clash on Friday before heading to the Gold Coast on Sunday for a second stint as a train-on player.
The Dockers have had four players training over summer – Mckenzie, Patrick Voss, Max Beattie and Sam van Rooyen – as they currently have two open list spots.
Voss has emerged as a frontrunner for one of the slots, with his VFL club Port Melbourne not expecting him back on the east coast this year.
Mckenzie, who was delisted by St Kilda in November, drew strong interest from both Fremantle and Gold Coast and after spending just over two weeks in Perth, will spend a similar time in Queensland to impress new Suns coach Damien Hardwick.
Players working with two clubs over summer is not uncommon, with Oleg Markov famously finishing his stint with Collingwood and moving to Carlton last pre-season, only for the Magpies to sign him to their list.
He went on to play in last year’s grand final win.
Mckenzie, 27, didn’t play a senior game last year because of persistent calf issues and flew to Germany in the offseason for treatment.
The Saints delisted him and left the door open to training at Moorabbin over summer but he has worked away elsewhere.
The Suns had former Roo Aidan Bonar and St Kilda dasher Jack Peris auditioning for their sole open list spot before Christmas but neither of the two returned to the club after the new year break.
No players replaced the pair.