“I think I got a couple of easy ones today, I just seemed to be in the right place at the right time and my team-mates worked extremely hard to get the ball forward and to my advantage,” McKinley told kangaroos.com.au seconds after the final siren.
Out to earn respect from his new compatriots, the 23 year-old kicked one goal in the first and second quarters, three in the third and one more in the fourth.
“It was good, obviously the chemistry is something that will take a while to come, but it’s good to kick a few and start to get that respect from the boys. So hopefully I can keep doing that over the next couple of weeks and be an asset to the club.”
With fitness a focus in the off-season, McKinley feels as fit as ever but quickly put his efforts in perspective.
“It’s always good to kick goals but this was just an intra-club match and our focus is on round one.
"It’s always a nervous time with these sorts of games; you always want to make a good impression. It’s just good to get it out of the way after such a long pre-season and I really feel like now we’re into games and it’s good.”
