McKenna approached Matera during the week, questioning his efforts during the Suns' round four loss to Melbourne and the youngster's desire for the contested ball.
"He [McKenna] got into me during the week, so that was in the back of my mind the whole game," Matera said.
"He set a task for me [against port]."
And Matera certainly delivered, with the 19-year-old gathering 21 possessions and booting two crucial final-quarter goals to lead Gold Coast to their first victory in the AFL.
But it was one pivotal play late in the game from Matera that did not even make the stats sheet which pleased coach McKenna the most.
"Today, he sets up Luke Russell and he ends up scoring the [match-winning] goal," said McKenna of Matera.
"That's the difference. That's the step in his growth and development."
The lightly-built teenager catapulted himself into a pivotal 50-50 contest against Power big man Alipate Carlile deep in the Suns' forward line. The ball spilled to Luke Russell who snapped the now-famous match-winning goal to give Gold Coast the lead in the dying stages.
"The ball was there to be won and I had to go," Matera said.
"That's what we want to be known as, being one of the hardest teams at the ball."
Matera said the victory was an important milestone for the club as it continues to develop its young and inexperienced playing list.
"We are starting to gel a bit better now."
"In round one, not many of our players had actually played with each other. Now we've played four or five games together, we know what to expect of each other."
"It's good for the Gold Coast community to get our first win on the board."
Matera said there was no reason to put any limits on just what the Suns could achieve for the rest of the season, beginning with a grudge-match against Essendon at Etihad Stadium next weekend.
"We go into every game wanting to win," he said.
"But we will go in with a bit more confidence now that we've got the [first] win."
Max Phillips covers news from AAMI Stadium for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_MaxPhillips
