Trent McKenzie was the focus of a lot of heat this week, as he is primed to take on Tom Hawkins once again. Port Adelaide's 21-point loss to Geelong earlier in the season can be directly ascribed to the one weakness in their structure, which is a lack of big tall bodies in the backline to stand on good key forwards. Five to Cameron, four to Hawkins ands three to Rohan that night set up the win for the Cats, and the same matchups will start the match again with McKenzie, Aliir and Jonas trying to hold them at bay. Of course, pressure on the midfield will be a massive factor.
Trent McKenzie was the focus of a lot of heat this week, as he is primed to take on Tom Hawkins once again. Port Adelaide's 21-point loss to Geelong earlier in the season can be directly ascribed to the one weakness in their structure, which is a lack of big tall bodies in the backline to stand on good key forwards. Five to Cameron, four to Hawkins ands three to Rohan that night set up the win for the Cats, and the same matchups will start the match again with McKenzie, Aliir and Jonas trying to hold them at bay. Of course, pressure on the midfield will be a massive factor.
Trent McKenzie retains his spot in the Port Adelaide defence this week, up against the feared Melbourne attack which has three or four genuine marking targets inside 50. He has sometimes been given jobs on the best opposition tall forward, as in the Lance Franklin matchup a couple of weeks ago, but with Tom Clurey and Aliir Aliir both in the side as well as Tom Jonas he should probably be moved down the pecking order a bit... though that still means he will take someone like Ben Brown or the dangerous Bailey Fritsch. He is unlikely to be fantasy relevant in this game.
Trent McKenzie has had a luckless career with injury, after promising so much early in his journey with the Gold Coast, but maybe he has finally found his place as a tall defender for Port Adelaide. The hype around him happened when fans discovered the cannon in his left boot, then the soft tissue problems piled up and he didn't do much in his first year at Alberton either. On this year's small sample size he seems at home as third tall in the Power backline, and his exotic stats look great.
One cannonball left
Two senior games in two years at Port Adelaide, two key defensive jobs. Trent McKenzie was signed on for one more year in the off season and has admitted it's his last chance, though the club hierarchy hasn't shown much inclination to play him in his preferred HBF position. It is six years since McKenzie played out anything like a full season of senior footy at a scoring level meriting fantasy interest. His career has been wasted by injury and misplacement, his lethal left boot left to wither on the vine. He should go undrafted.
Cannon didn't fire a shot
After seven years at Gold Coast, Trent McKenzie's first at Alberton produced one senior game where he used his boot only seven times, despite reaching 25 touches at the lower level. He suffered some quadricep and concussion issues in the back half of the SANFL season, and had shoulder surgery after a training mishap in November. McKenzie played a half back flank in the twos last year but it was a measure of how the match committee sees him that in his single appearance in the big stuff he lined up on a tall forward, and was replaced by a tall defender the next week. His fantasy value lies in him playing creatively, which he won't be allowed to do at Port even if picked.
The Cannon reloaded
Seven seasons at Gold Coast finally ended for Trent McKenzie with a late resurgence, including his first 20-disposal game for three years in round 22. His role at the Suns gradually moved from attacking wing to small defender to undersized tall defender, with the last of those ruining his long-kicking offensive game. The Cannon is so-named because he has a howitzer in his left boot, and it's been a long time since his debut year when he used to launch rockets from the left wing to terrorise defenders. Fantasy coaches want to see McKenzie released up the ground to use his best weapon. Does he have the fitness to run in midfield any more? The JLT will tell.
