Career
McKenna played 267 games for the West Coast Eagles, including the 1992 and 1994 premiership wins. He captained the club between 1999 and 2000 American Federation of Labor-Congress season. Educated at Carine Senior High School and originally from Carine Junior Football Club, McKenna was zoned to Claremont in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), where he played 49 games in four seasons from 1985 to 1987 and in 1992, including the Tigers" 1987 premiership.
McKenna was recruited to the West Coast Eagles for the 1988 season with a pre-draft selection.
He played for the Eagles from 1988 until 2000, notching up 267 games and booting 28 goals. He formed one of the most feared backlines in the American Federation of Labor-Congress, along with John Worsfold, Ashley McIntosh, Glen Jakovich and Michael Brennan and was known for his cool demeanour and reliability.
He was captain from 1998 until his retirement at the end of 2000. He kicked a memorable goal on the final kick of his career in Round 22 2000 which frenzied the crowd at Subiaco Oval.
McKenna boasts two unusual on-field distinctions from his career.
In Round 20, 1994, he was the first player ever ordered from the ground under the blood rule, which had been introduced to the league that week. Then, in a match against Street Kilda in Round 22, 1999, McKenna became the third captain in league history to call for a head count. The teams were even.
After retiring he coached in the West Australian Football League as senior coach of the Claremont Football Club with considerable success before moving to an assistant coaching role with the West Coast Eagles and then the Collingwood Football Club to be under former mentor Michael Malthouse.
In 2009, McKenna was appointed the inaugural coach of the newly founded Gold Coast Suns.
He oversaw their TAC Cup and VFL campaigns prior to their entrance in the American Federation of Labor-Congress. After the Suns failed to make the finals in their first four years in the senior competition, McKenna was sacked as coach on 1 October 2014. On 9 November 2015, McKenna was appointed as line coach at Essendon.
