|
Peter McKenna (born 27 August 1946 in Brunswick West, Victoria) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Collingwood and Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. He also represented Devonport in the North West Football Union (NWFU), and Northcote, Port Melbourne and Geelong West in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). Regarded as one of the best full-forwards to ever play the game, McKenna holds the VFL/AFL record for the longest sequence of matches in which he scored at least one goal: 121 matches. A mop-top hairstyle, genial grin and a gift for taking chest high marks won McKenna adulation in the 1960s and 1970s as the game's first multimedia star. He continued his involvement in the game as a commentator with the Seven Network during the 1980s and 1990s. ==Playing career== McKenna was the second of five children to Winnie and Kevin McKenna. He grew up supporting and played soccer until he was 13.〔 Recruited from West Heidelberg, McKenna credited Collingwood coach Bob Rose for patiently helping to shape him into the champion footballer he was to become. In the opening round of the 1966 VFL season against at Victoria Park, McKenna gave a glimpse of what was to come when he kicked 12 goals in a match-winning effort, the first of thirteen occasions when he would kick ten or more goals in a game. However, McKenna's form dropped away and after being held goalless against in Round 6, he was dropped for the remainder of the season. Many full forwards are quick on the lead, but the truly great ones seem to know instinctively how to get the maximum advantage from their leads by timing them to perfection. In this particular skill, McKenna has had few peers, and once he had gained possession of the ball, usually from a bullet stab pass from Barry Price or Wayne Richardson, he almost invariably finished things off with consummate precision, typically using a kick on which the jury, at the time, was still out – the drop punt. McKenna topped the Magpies' goal kicking list for the first of eight consecutive times in 1967, booting 47 goals. Over the ensuing seasons he gradually improved, kicking 97 goals in 1969, before amassing an incredible tally of 143 the following year. What was even more incredible was that it was not sufficient to top the VFL's goal kicking list; Hawthorn's Peter Hudson kicked 146 goals, adding a record-equalling 150 goals in 1971 compared to McKenna's 'modest' tally of 134. From the start of the 1968 VFL season to Round 3, 1974, McKenna kicked at least one goal in 121 consecutive games, still a competition record. Moderately disappointing though this doubtless was, what was almost certainly of more concern to McKenna was his failure to contribute towards a Collingwood premiership. The Magpies reached the grand final twice during his career, losing to St Kilda by a point in 1966, although McKenna did not play, and then squandering a half time lead of 44 points against Carlton four years later. In that game, McKenna's misfortune in sustaining a concussion after colliding with team mate Des Tuddenham during the second term undoubtedly contributed greatly to Collingwood's second half demise. Nevertheless, he finished the game with 6 goals, more than anybody else on the ground. Peter McKenna finally managed to head the VFL's list of goal kicking with 130 goals in 1972, a season which also saw him achieve All Australian selection after booting 19 goals in 3 games at the Perth carnival. The following year McKenna's total of 86 goals was sufficient for him to claim pole position on the VFL's list for a second time. At the end of round 10 1975, McKenna led Collingwoods goalkicking list with a modest total of 26 goals but the following week he had a poor game in which he was held goalless in the Queens Birthday round 11 match against Melbourne Football Club. This performance saw him and a number of teammates in round 12 dropped to the reserves against South Melbourne Football Club at V.F.L Park. There he sustained a serious kidney injury that brought his season, and his Collingwood career, to conclusion. 1976 saw him lining up with the Devonport Magpies in Tasmania's North West Football Union (NWFU). McKenna enjoyed a solid, confidence-boosting season in Tasmania, kicking 79 goals in 17 games. In 1977, McKenna returned to the mainland for another stint in the VFL. Sadly, at least as far as McKenna was concerned, Collingwood was loath to pay big money for its former star, and with some reluctance he opted to front up with arch-rival Carlton instead. In what was by no means an ignominious comeback, McKenna managed 36 goals in 11 games, but it seemed clear to all parties concerned that he was some way past his best. As a result, he left Carlton, and spent the next three years giving good service to VFA clubs Geelong West (67 goals), Port Melbourne (52 goals) where he was captain/coach, and Northcote (98 goals).〔Atkinson, p. 122.〕 Altogether, McKenna's VFL record of 874 goals from 191 games was enough to place him as the league's fourth-highest goalkicker at the time of his retirement, behind only Gordon Coventry, Doug Wade and Jack Titus. At the start of the 2014 AFL season he sits ninth all-time. His full senior and representative career yielded 1213 goals. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Peter McKenna」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|