Sam McKenzie will return to the AFL New Zealand Premiership in 2020 and will lead the Central Giants for the third consecutive season.
The 2018 Premiership winning captain will be looking to lead his side back to the top of the national competition after an up and down season in 2019.
The 31 year old arrived at the Giants in 2018 after they used a priority pick prior to the National Draft to secure McKenzie from the Southern Saints where he linked up with head coach Izaak Williams for the first time.
The side had an inconsistent 2019 with a 3 win, 6 loss record with the highlight coming in round 6 with a 102 point thumping over the Northern Suns.
“The AFL New Zealand Premiership is a tough competition. How quickly the coaches and senior players can facilitate the team coming together is a key challenge and I’m looking forward to playing my part for the Giants.”
Sam is a regular in the New Zealand national side and has played in two AFL International Cup tournaments in Melbourne. He currently plays for the Mt Roskill Saints in the Auckland AFL and has former ties to the North City Demons in Wellington.
McKenzie is the all time leading goal kicker in the competitions history and was the golden boot runner up during the 2017 AFL New Zealand Premiership finishing with 20 goals for the season. The marking forward/midfielder has a strong contesting marking skill which provides him with the ability to play against much bigger defensive opponents and still provide potency with his goal kicking ability.
