McKenna and six others were recognised at the Australian Football Hall of Fame Induction Dinner, held in Melbourne, taking the total number of inductees to 227 since its establishment in 1996.
 The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996 and serves to recognise players, coaches, umpires, administrators, and media representatives who have made an outstanding contribution to Australian football.

McKenna played 267 games for West Coast as a key defender from 1988-2000 with premierships in 1992 and 1994. He represented Western Australia four times and was club Best and Fairest 1989, 1999, All Australian 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994 and Club Captain 1999-2000.

In McKenna's role of GCFC coach he has been surprised at the passion that exists for Australian rules on the Gold Coast. The fans are already very much on board and I'm not sure that would have happened if North Melbourne had relocated up here, he said. We will get the Carlton or Collingwood supporters coming to watch us whereas they may not have gone to watch North. I've got two years then hopefully I will have done a good enough job to have that extended into our first AFL year of 2011.

Success came quickly at the Eagles, McKenna playing in a grand final in his third full season of 1991 when it was said a lack of experience hurt West Coast against a seasoned Hawthorn. I used to ask the question, 'What is experience and when do you suddenly acquire it?' Do you not have it at 49 games but suddenly develop it after 51, said McKenna. In that grand final we did well to be only 10 points down at three-quarter time. Then we learnt what experience meant. Players such as Dunstall, Brereton and Pritchard in the last quarter taught us that lesson and the next year and in 1994 we were qualified.

So, what happened in 1993? We backed off a margin, it might have only been 1 per cent, and that was enough to make the difference. It took McKenna two days to tell his wife of his Hall of Fame induction before working out who to invite to his table for last night's dinner. His guests represented a who's who of his football journey. Naturally his mother, father and wife were there, plus a couple of mates from his early days with WAFL club Claremont. Mark Brayshaw gave me my nickname of `Bluey' and David O'Connell is another Claremont mate. Then there is Gerard Neesham, who only coached me for a year but had a massive influence on me, said 40-year-old McKenna. Mick Malthouse was my coach at the Eagles and I was his assistant at Collingwood and I also invited `Woosha' (John Worsfold) but the Eagles are playing in Perth on Saturday. So I've put him on interchange and invited his wife Georgia instead. McKenna grew up in Perth as a fanatical Claremont fan despite living in Subiaco's zone. As a kid he wore the No.16 of ace Claremont goalkicker Warren Ralph, while marvelling at the Krakouer brothers -- Jim and Phil -- and the courage of Ken Hunter. During 15 years McKenna played on, and zoned off, some of the most dangerous half-forwards in the game, so it comes as something of a surprise when he nominates one opponent as clearly his toughest. Gavin Brown, whether Collingwood was 10 goals up or 10 goals down, ensured you had the same fight on your hands, in the air or on the ground, he said. And I can remember `Aka' (Jason Akermanis) kicking four or five on me one day.