They often joked about who would get there first, but Trent McKenzie is set to put a stop to the changeroom chatter with the Gold Coaster set to become the first player from the club’s inaugural 2010 draft intake to reach the magic 50-game mark against Richmond this weekend.

Young guns David Swallow and Matt Shaw had also been vying for the career milestone, but McKenzie will win the race as he becomes the first Gold Coaster to achieve the feat. 

“They boys often had a bit of a joke about it, but I think we are pretty happy to be playing games for the club and I don’t think any of us really cared who got there first – as long as we were all playing good, consistent footy,” McKenzie told reporters on Tuesday.

It hasn’t come easy for the 21-year-old though, with McKenzie having had consecutive injury-interrupted pre-seasons after suffering knee tendonitis throughout the summers.

“We’ve seen a few of the boys go down during the year which has been unfortunate, and I was lucky enough to have been continuing playing games and get to 50,” he said.

“So I have been pretty lucky.”

With the 191cm key defender averaging 20 disposals and a total of 53 rebounding efforts across half-back in his ten AFL appearances this year, McKenzie said he has worked tirelessly to ensure his booming left-foot does not turn him into a “one-trick pony”.

“I have had to work on my game – I don’t want to be a one-trick pony so I have to do other things because obviously there’s a lot of good players in the competition.”

“So I have had to find other ways to play good.”

McKenzie credited GC SUNS assistant coach Dean Solomon for his impressive 2013 campaign.

“I have to thank Dean Solomon because in my first season I was playing in the midfield the last couple of years, but after moving into the defence he has really helped me with my one-on-ones,” McKenzie said.

“Hopefully I can keep improving that and be a good defender.”

And with Harley Bennell and Dion Prestia also in the mix to reach their first career games-played milestones, McKenzie believe it’s only a matter of time before the entire playing group benefits from the added-presence of 50-game bodies.

“Our first year you tend to feel the pressure a bit more but after that you begin to get use to the large crowds and the quality of the opposition,” he said.

“And when you play 50 games together as a team you start to gel a bit better.

“… The more we play the better we will become as a footy team.”