Born: July 19, 1989 – Perth, Western Australia
Test record: 8 Tests (2010-13) – 0 points
Tours: 2010 Four Nations, 2011 Four Nations

Tough Penrith prop Sam McKendry was a New Zealand Test regular during the early part of the 2010s and played 147 NRL matches.

Born in Perth but raised in Dargaville, McKendry came through the Mount Albert junior ranks before being scouted by the Panthers.

He won a Jersey Flegg grand final with Penrith in 2007 and received a taste of first grade in 2008-09 – as well as being a stalwart for the club’s NYC team – while still a teenager. He also played for New Zealand Māori against the Indigenous Dreamtime team in a 2008 World Cup curtain-raiser.

A Junior Kiwi in 2009, McKendry enjoyed a breakout 2010 season in which he played every game for the high-flying Panthers and earned a Kiwis call-up for the Four Nations. He debuted in the round-robin destruction of Papua New Guinea in Rotorua and was in the front-row as New Zealand shocked Australia 16-12 in the final at Suncorp Stadium. McKendry also represented New Zealand Māori in an 18-all draw with England during that post-season period.

McKendry featured in three straight Anzac Tests from 2011-13, as well as a post-season Test against Australia in 2011 followed by two matches for the Kiwis during that year’s Four Nations.

An injury-hampered 2013 campaign for Penrith contributed to his omission from the World Cup squad and he was unable to break back into he Kiwis set-up amid a logjam of quality front-rowers – despite playing a key hand in the Panthers’ top-four drive in 2014.

A successful of ACL injuries curtailed McKendry’s career from 2016 and he retired from the NRL at the end of 2019 after only featuring in the Panthers’ NSW Cup team that year.