Trent McKenzie celebrated by his home crowd in his 150th AFL game. Image: AFL Photos.

WHEN a new generation player - in a decade or two - stands before locker No.12 at Alberton, he should sense a very clear "vibe". It will be about selflessness, team-first attitudes and proving dedication to a club can mean much more than talent.

This is the legacy of Jackson Trengove, who wore the No.12 Port Adelaide jumper from 2010-2017 (and chose to stay rather than run from Alberton as the darkest hours overwhelmed a club in a political battle for survival as Port Adelaide).

And the same theme certainly was embraced and enhanced by Trent McKenzie on taking to the No.12 locker on arriving from Gold Coast for the start of the 2018 AFL season.

Technology - being what it will be in a decade or two - will inevitably allow the new apprentice at the No.12 locker to see his predecessors in action, via a hologram dancing before his eyes.

He will see how Trent McKenzie, across 165 AFL games at Gold Coast and Port Adelaide, became known as "The Cannon" by putting the Sherrin as far as 70 metres from the hot spots in defence with his booming left-foot kicks.

He will see - by calling up the highlights from the 2020 AFL qualifying final at Adelaide Oval - how Trent McKenzie at 191cm and 83kg gave up height and mass (seven centimetres and 20 kilograms) to Geelong star forward Tom Hawkins ... But he did not concede in the critical battle, forcing Hawkins to stray wide to the pockets at the Oval where the Cats legend did not score a goal.

He can play back senior coach Ken Hinkley's press conference from that night ....

"To put (Hawkins) into difficult positions to take shots from, there's no doubt he was still a target for them - but Trent did a great job," Hinkley said after watching a match-up many doubted could be so successful in such an important final.

Season 2020 - that pandemic-shaped campaign - was a watershed year for McKenzie at Port Adelaide. He played 17 AFL games, after managing just one in each of 2018 and 2019. He stood taller in the "undersize" Port Adelaide defence that relied on McKenzie, captain Tom Jonas, Tom Clurey and Ryan Burton to stand the big threats in opposition attacks.

"Trent all year," noted Hinkley, "basically stood at full back for us (conceding height but never the contest). Regardless of the opponent he had to stand there for a bit and hold his nerve. And he did. He did a good job. His growth (in 2020) is an incredible story."

Trent McKenzie's 2020 season will long live in the memory of senior coach Ken Hinkley. Image: AFL Photos.

And when the sage men of Dad's Army tell the new kid in the No.12 jumper of how Trent McKenzie combined that "never ever give up" theme with a team-first mentality, the new generation recruit will know he too is needing to enhance a legacy at Port Adelaide.

McKenzie did not get a Brownlow Medal vote in his 165-game career. But he earned - and justifiably commanded - votes for awards that honoured true foot soldiers with a commitment to team goals rather than personal glory.

McKenzie last played an AFL game for Port Adelaide - with a pained and battered knee - in last season's semi-final against Greater Western Sydney at Adelaide Oval. His 2024 year was wrecked by hamstring injuries, leaving McKenzie to work in just five SANFL games. His career record at Port Adelaide closes with 59 AFL matches (it seemed more) and 46 SANFL league games.

At 32, McKenzie leaves Port Adelaide and elite football without a farewell match, without being chaired off by his team-mates, without any trumpets ...  but he cannot clear that No.12 locker without a tribute, an acknowledgment that he gave everything to the team cause.

McKenzie can be proud of his mark on the game. It all began with the Western Jets in the Victorian under-18 academies. Timing is everything. This was 2009 and the AFL granted new franchise Gold Coast pre-draft access to a dozen 17-year-old prospects. McKenzie was an easy choice for the Gold Coast recruiters who had McKenzie in their VFL team in 2010.

In 2011 - the year McKenzie saw Port Adelaide for the first time, as an opponent and a victorious one in that infamous game at Football Park - the Rising Star judges honoured the teenager with a nomination in round 17.

Trent McKenzie spent the first seven years of his career at the Suns. Image: AFL Photos.

Remarkably, Gold Coast delisted McKenzie in 2017 - and with Ken Hinkley well aware of his talents from his time at Gold Coast as an assistant coach, the partnership was renewed at Alberton. Some might say McKenzie's career was fulfilled with Hinkley at Port Adelaide, even if there is no premiership to celebrate.

To be admired - for generations to come - is how McKenzie made the most of his opportunity at Port Adelaide. That night against Hawkins is to be remembered, as is all McKenzie gave when working against the odds.

Hinkley last year started the tribute to McKenzie in the lead-up to his 150th AFL milestone noting: "Trent, you have probably trained the least of any 150-game player that I have seen ..."

Given McKenzie probably knew the Port Adelaide medical staff more than the coaching staff - as a result of his battle scars - Hinkley's observation was not misguided.

In a more serious tone, Hinkley continued: "Trent is a high quality person. He always has had high talent. I saw the 17-year-old Trent McKenzie arrive at the Gold Coast. He was really talented. He had a rough run with his body and injury ... He has been able to stand up. What he has been able to do is get to a point where he is quite durable. That happens to some people as they get older. He can cope with the physical battle this game tests you with. It is a tick to the way he goes about things."

Trent McKenzie retires from AFL after 165 games and will be remembered fondly as a reliable and trustworthy teammate. Image: AFL Photos.

Hinkley recognised the sacrifices McKenzie made for team before individual.

"Combative," Hinkley says of the quality that inspired McKenzie's move from midfield roles to defence. "You need to be combative to play as a tall, key back. The highlights we saw of Trent (as a tribute in the team meeting before his 150th game last year) showed how often he goes back into positions you should not go, but he does for his team. He is reliable. You trust him. He plays that way."

McKenzie can clear that No.12 locker with pride - and honour.

"Port Adelaide has been a pretty special club to come to," says McKenzie. "There is a lot of history after being at the opposite with Gold Coast. To be involved in such a great club as Port Adelaide is a real privilege. Playing one game at this club is a great honour. I am pretty proud."

Whoever gets that No.12 jumper next should be just as proud to honour the legacy left by McKenzie at Port Adelaide.