Eric MacKenzie Biography

After 147 games, Eric Mackenzie announces his retirement from AFL football, giving up the battle with his troublesome feet.

"My feet have given me a lot of grief. I've been in pain for the last two years, so it's a chance to actually let them heal and move on with my life," Mackenzie said.

"I'd love to be able to run around with family and that later in life."

Mackenzie had a scan last Friday which showed no improvement in the past three months, taking the decision to retire out of his hands.

"There's no guarantees it will heal completely. It's something I'm going to have to deal with going forward and being able to manage the pain," Mackenzie said.

"We've tried everything. The docs here have been great at exploring all the different options. Nothing seems to have worked."

The 30-year-old finishes on 147 games – three shy of life membership – and with one of his last acts on the field the heroic match-saving collision with the behind post when he avoided rushing a score in last season's epic extra time elimination final against Port Adelaide.

"I didn't want that to be my last act on a footy field, but it kind of ended up that was the way it was," Mackenzie said.

"I'd like to think that's how I will be remembered, just doing what I could for the team."

Eric Mackenzie is finally ready to resume his stalled career, via East Perth in the WAFL, after recovering from stress fractures in both feet.

Eric Mackenzie is edging closer to a comeback from career-threatening stress fractures in both feet.

Mackenzie has been joining in some drills in recent weeks and hitting top gear in running exercises.

"After the bye we might see some footy, which is really pleasing," Eagles coach Adam Simpson said of Mackenzie.

"There were some dark periods there earlier in the year with his toes and how he recovered from that.

"It's just great to see him around the club, getting on the track."

Eric Mackenzie has suffered a setback with his troublesome toe and has been forced back into a moonboot.

"It’s just flared up again. He’s gone back into a moon boot at the recommendation of our medical staff," Eagles general manager football Craig Vozzo said.

"We’ll know more over the next couple of weeks, but we’ll take a conservative approach for at least two weeks and then reset from there, depending on how he responds."

West Coast re-signs veterans Mark LeCras and Eric Mackenzie on one-year deals.

"We are pleased that both players have re-signed and will be a part of our 2018 campaign," Eagles football manager Craig Vozzo said.

"Mark is one of the smartest forwards in the game and Eric finished the season strongly as part of our defensive structure, so it will be great to have their experience and ability as part of the squad for at least one more season."

In a frustrating setback after reviving his career in recent weeks, Mackenzie will be sidelined for up to three matches by a hamstring strain suffered during the Eagles' 32-point loss to Port Adelaide.

Shannon Hurn will captain West Coast for a third straight year in 2017, while former Hawthorn skipper Sam Mitchell will provide support as a member of the leadership group.

Dynamic midfielder Luke Shuey has been elevated to co-vice captain alongside dual Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy.

Star duo Jeremy McGovern and Andrew Gaff have also been added to the leadership group with Eric Mackenzie, who was the club's best and fairest in 2014 before requiring a knee reconstruction early the following year, the only omission from last year's group.

Matt Priddis rounds out the seven-man group, which was decided by a player vote, before being ticked off by the football department and then the board.

"Shannon Hurn has been a terrific leader since his appointment as captain three years ago and he has great respect from his teammates," Eagles coach Adam Simpson said.

"Over the last couple of years Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff and Jeremy McGovern have certainly grown within the group and it has been reflected in the player vote.

"Clearly Josh Kennedy and Matt Priddis have been outstanding leaders for a long time and to have someone of Sam Mitchell's calibre at our disposal will be invaluable."

West Coast coach Adam Simpson says Eric Mackenzie needs to rebuild some confidence as he continues to work his way back to his best football following a knee reconstruction.

"He's just struggling for a bit of form at the moment," Simpson said.

"Coming off his knee and trying to adapt to the way we play and where the game is at the moment, it's changed a bit since 2014. So we're trying to get him some form. At the moment he's doing that at East Perth."

West Coast coach Adam Simpson says star defender Eric Mackenzie is both nervous and excited about fitting back into the Eagles' defence after missing 12 months following a knee reconstruction.

"He's excited," Simpson said.

"He looks the same player as when he hurt himself this time last year.

"No doubt he'll be nervous, and our expectations aren't high. It's just to get through the game, to get that excitement of playing a game of footy."

After suffering a season-ending knee injury in the NAB Challenge, Eric Mackenzie says he has been playing a mentoring role for West Coast's defence in 2015.

"As much as you'd love to be part of it, I've still been involved this year helping out a few of the guys," Mackenzie said.

"It's just good to see the growth in the group – the development that's happened across the whole year (in) Simmo's second year in charge, he's done such a great job."

Eric Mackenzie is back running after his knee reconstruction and expects to be in full training at the start of pre-season in December.

"It was probably one of the worst runs I've ever done, but it felt good," Mackenzie said.

"It's now about getting the confidence back. I've been able to build the strength in the gym, so I've got that. I know it's going to be strong enough. It's just a matter of trusting it again.

"Getting through that first session, it's a huge tick, a big milestone. That's what this whole year is about, just reaching each milestone as it comes.

"Day one pre-season I should be in the majority of training … I should be good to go from about December."

Eric Mackenzie will have a traditional knee reconstruction next week as he begins the long road to recovery from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

West Coast's reigning best-and-fairest ruptured the ACL in his right knee during the Eagles' 31-point win over Carlton in the NAB Challenge.

Mackenzie said he initially thought he had copped a knock to the knee, when in reality his knee had buckled without contact.

It wasn't until the physio started to test his knee that he feared the worst.

"Immediately I just thought it was a knock on the knee, a bit of soreness that would go away pretty quickly," Mackenzie said.

"I managed to get up, and I started jogging off towards the end of it so I thought I'd be right to come back on.

"It's only when the physio started doing the tests – I know what the ACL test is – they weren't happy with the results so they took me down to the rooms.

"I've just done this pre-season for nothing – it's going to be a long year ahead."

Coast has been dealt a serious blow ahead of the home and away season after scans confirmed defender Eric Mackenzie will need a knee reconstruction.

The 26-year-old tore his right anterior cruciate ligament in the Eagles' NAB Challenge win over Carlton on Friday night, after falling to the ground in an innocuous marking contest.

Eric Mackenzie wins his first John Worsfold Medal as West Coast's best and fairest for the 2014 season.

Mackenzie topped the count with 201 votes, 11 votes clear of Brownlow medallist Matthew Priddis.

Eric Mackenzie signs a new deal with the Eagles that will keep him at the club until the end of 2017.

"It's great to have the contract out of the way by this stage of the season," Mackenzie said.

"It will allow me to concentrate purely on what needs to be done in the second half of the year."

Beau Maister will miss up to eight weeks following surgery on a serious hamstring injury.

Maister damaged the lateral hamstring tendon behind his left knee while in pursuit of West Coast defender Eric Mackenzie in the dying stages of the Saints' clash with the Eagles at Etihad Stadium.

West Coast defender Eric Mackenzie says his improvement in the AFL has been steady over the years.

"Now that I'm in my sixth pre-season I've got that (physical) base, so it's more just trying to improve that little bit each time," he said.

"My focus is always working on the skills, so that's something I do a lot of in pre-season - getting as many kicks as I can and then a lot of body work."

West Coast's new cult hero Nic Naitanui has penned a new AFL deal with the Eagles, along with defenders Mitchell Brown and Eric Mackenzie.

"They are the future of the club and securing them for another contract is important for our club," operations manager Neale Daniher said.

"This is a very exciting time for our football club and those three young men are all integral in our plans."

West coast defender Eric Mackenzie is ready to face the challenge of playing on Lance Franklin according to coach John Worsfold.

Eric Mackenzie is scheduled to undergo surgery to address the patella tendonitis in his right knee.

Mackenzie will miss the upcoming NAB cup and will struggle to be fit for the start of the 2008 AFL season.