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Sam McKendry (born 19 July 1989) is a former New Zealand Māori and New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a for the Penrith Panthers in the
McKendry was signed by the Penrith Panthers in 2006, having initially been spotted by the Parramatta Eels. He played for the Panthers' in their 2007 Jersey Flegg Cup Grand Final-winning team against the Eels, scoring a try. Making his NRL debut for the Panthers in round 10 of the 2008 season, McKendry primarily played in the NYC for the Panthers between 2008 and 2009, for a total of 44 matches. He moved into the Panthers' NRL squad in 2010.
McKendry missed the end of the 2016 season due an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury, and the entirety of the 2017 season after re-injuring it during a pre-season trial against the Parramatta Eels. McKendry returned to the NRL in 2018 but once again injured his ACL, against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 2. He stayed on the field for 13 minutes after initially going down, before the extent of the injury was revealed during the following week.
On 16 September 2019, it was revealed that McKendry was one of ten players to be released at the end of the season by the Penrith club.
On 29 November 2019, McKendry announced his retirement as a player from the
Penrith Panthers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKendry, Sam 1989 births Living people Australian rugby league players Junior Kiwis players Mount Albert Lions players New Zealand expatriates in Australia New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players Penrith Panthers players Rugby league players from Perth, Western Australia Rugby league props Windsor Wolves players
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
.
Early years
McKendry was born in Stirling, Western Australia and is of Maori and Scottish descent. McKendry moved to New Zealand at the age of 8, and was raised in Dargaville. He boarded atMt Albert Grammar School
Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in ...
in Auckland, playing his junior rugby league for the Mt Albert Lions
The Mount Albert Lions are a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. The Lions home ground is at Fowlds Park. Their patron is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. In 2008 and 2009 the Lions won the Fox Memorial.
...
and representing the Junior Kiwis.
Playing career
McKendry was signed by the Penrith Panthers in 2006, having initially been spotted by the Parramatta Eels. He played for the Panthers' in their 2007 Jersey Flegg Cup Grand Final-winning team against the Eels, scoring a try. Making his NRL debut for the Panthers in round 10 of the 2008 season, McKendry primarily played in the NYC for the Panthers between 2008 and 2009, for a total of 44 matches. He moved into the Panthers' NRL squad in 2010.
McKendry missed the end of the 2016 season due an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury, and the entirety of the 2017 season after re-injuring it during a pre-season trial against the Parramatta Eels. McKendry returned to the NRL in 2018 but once again injured his ACL, against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 2. He stayed on the field for 13 minutes after initially going down, before the extent of the injury was revealed during the following week.
On 16 September 2019, it was revealed that McKendry was one of ten players to be released at the end of the season by the Penrith club.
On 29 November 2019, McKendry announced his retirement as a player from the NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
. McKendry broke the news via his Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
page saying "I've spent the last 13 years with Penrith doing what I love as a job and got to live out my dream. My career didn't end as I planned due to consecutive ACL injuries but I never let injury force me into medical retirement and fought back each time to retire on my own terms. It's been one hell of a journey and it wasn't always easy but I wouldn't change a thing, my footy days are not over completely though as I have agreed to play with St Mary's in 2020, looking forward to running around with the boys".
Representative career
In 2008 McKendry played for the New Zealand Māori in a curtain raiser to the 2008 World Cup. In 2010 he was named in the New Zealand national rugby league team squad for the Four Nations tournament after Fuifui Moimoi withdrew due to injury. McKendry again played for the New Zealand Māori in 2010 against England as part of the build up to the Four Nations. He made his Test debut for the Kiwis in their match against Papua New Guinea.Personal life
McKendry is married to Kirsten McKendry (). The couple have three children together.References
External links
Penrith Panthers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKendry, Sam 1989 births Living people Australian rugby league players Junior Kiwis players Mount Albert Lions players New Zealand expatriates in Australia New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players Penrith Panthers players Rugby league players from Perth, Western Australia Rugby league props Windsor Wolves players