In the midst of a tumultuous start to his third coaching tenure, Rodney Eade sent a stern message to the playing group via the omission of Trent McKenzie in round two.
The game-breaking defender has had a mortgage on a back-flank at Metricon Stadium, but one game in to the Eade era and McKenzie was dismissed to the NEAFL. A lack of intensity and urgency cited for his dropping. Two key factors that were absent from the playing group in the first two weeks of the season.
After a strong showing in the reserves, McKenzie was immediately recalled to make the trip south against Geelong. And from the opening minutes he made his intentions clear. Despite spending the majority of his AFL career playing across half-back, the Western Jets product started in the middle of the ground. He played run-with roles on triple premiership superstars Jimmy Bartel and Steve Johnson – dramatically nullifying their impact on the contest.
“I think Trent McKenzie really responded and answered the challenge," a satisfied Eade told reporters following the SUNS nine-point loss to Geelong on Sunday.
"He’s a fairly casual sort of player, (so) we need that intensity week in week out.
ROUND THREE MONDAY WASH-UP v GEELONG
“We were really pleased with him. Last weekend we put him in the seconds and we played him in the centre square. He won three clearances early and we were then pleased with his game.”
With the scores level in the third quarter and Geelong on another pulsating counter attack, McKenzie ran back with the flight of the ball to take a fearless mark in front of his direct opponent Johnson.
Despite the awe-inspiring individual effort, and a dedicated team-first approach against the Cats, Eade continued to challenge McKenzie in the post-mortem forum. After a strong response on Sunday afternoon, you get the sense he knows how to get the best out of his players. After all, he’s been doing it for the best part of two decades.
“I’ve been told here that Trent’s a fairly competitive guy and he’s got good courage. Just sometimes he gets a little bit lazy and tends to walk and trot,” Eade said.
“He’s got good pace and he doesn’t use that. He answered that challenge today, he really did use that pace and set the game up. But that courage was fantastic at that stage.”
