As Shane Burgoyne gathered with the footy greats at the MCG on Monday, he could not help but marvel at the Magpie who will set an unthinkable mark in the AFL for longevity on Saturday.
A premiership player with Port Adelaide and Hawthorn, Burgoyne has loved the ceremony surrounding Scott Pendlebury leading into Saturday’s record-breaking 433rd game, which will be played against the Eagles.
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The half-dozen members of the 400 game club are revered by their clubs and, in a credit to the way they have carried themselves, respected by fans across the wider competition.
Tucky. KB. Fletch (or Inspector Gadget). Boomer. Silk. Pendles. Their nicknames suffice. They are the half-dozen who defied Father Time, a super six who kept kicking on in their late 30s, champions who stood the test of time to pass 400 games.
Known as “Silk” for the magnificence of his skills, Burgoyne was tough. Really tough. When he arrived at Hawthorn, there were concerns a grumbling knee could prove career-ending.
He knows more than most about the dedication and sacrifices required to reach the mark, of the exacting physical challenges and significant mental tests the 400 club have surpassed. It is why he was so delighted to be at the MCG on Monday.
Michael Tuck, Shaun Burgoyne, Brent Harvey, Scott Pendlebury, Dustin Fletcher and Kevin Bartlett pose ahead of Pendlebury’s record-breaking 433rd match.Source: Getty Images
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“I think the great thing about it when I reflect on my career is that as I was getting closer to the number 400, you look for inspiration. You look for pots of gold or nuggets to try to inspire you (and) I completely remember looking to Fletch and Boomer, because I’d played against them and I’d seen them play, and it gave me inspiration that I could do it,” he told foxsports.com.au.
“Tucky and Kevin are obviously a lot older than what we are, so I didn’t have the privilege of watching them play, so I was looking to someone for inspiration and those guys provided it, which then gave me hope that I could get there provided I looked after my body the right way. And I think when you look at Scott, he epitomises professionalism. He’s a pro’s pro. He’s super fit. He’s playing as good as he ever has and I think he loves the game, and I reckon that’s what helped me as well, the love of the game.
“Probably at some stage when he was coming through, he probably looked at myself and Boomer and Fletch and thought the same thing; “If they can do it, why can’t I?’. But he’s got to 400 games, ticked that off, and then he surged ahead, and now he’s in uncharted territory, isn’t he? I think at this point, with his form, he looks like he could potentially go on.”
Pendlebury speaks on milestone match | 02:44
Fox Footy will feature a “Pendles Cam” for his record-breaking game and when Burgoyne’s fellow Fox Footy expert analysts were canvassed this week about Pendlebury’s longevity, incredulity was a common theme among them all.
Blokes like Jack Riewoldt and Garry Lyon know how backbreaking and bruising footy can be and said it was the type of achievement that might, just might, be possible at lower levels. But against the best? It defies belief.
“I can believe someone’s about to play their 433rd game, but just not at AFL level. I struggle to get my head around that. If I read that about a player playing for Scoresby, I’d think what an extraordinary performance that is,” Lyon, the AFL 360 co-host, said.
“But at AFL level? No. It blows your mind. I’m sure every time this record gets broken, we think that’s it. No one’s going to beat it. But I’d be very surprised if they get past this.”
Pendlebury scores on historic night | 01:24
THE ARCHITECT OF THE AFL
Derek Hine, the long-term Collingwood recruiter, was about to head to Ireland back in 2005 when he decided to drop by a match at Monash University to watch a potential draftee.
But it was a lanky kid playing for the Gippsland Power called Pendlebury who caught his eye due to his ability to find space where there was none.
That trait has been a feature throughout the dual-premiership Magpie’s career and one cited regularly by his peers on the field and those who have broadcast a grand career.
Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley, who played alongside and then coached Pendlebury, was the man who an athlete who had shown great promise in basketball up for the first of his 207 goals back in 2006.
The teenager succumbed to glandular fever in his first pre-season with Collingwood and spent much of the first half of the season in the VFL before getting a chance against Brisbane in a game where Blake Caracella suffered a career-ending neck injury.
“That was his last game (because) he got hit on the side of the head, had a neck injury, and the game was stopped for about 10 minutes, and that was Cara’s last game,” Buckley said.
“So in a sliding doors moment, that next bit of play we went down the field and … I kicked inside 50m and Pendles took the mark, went back, kicked his first goal, and he was away.
“There’s a start and an end to everything but it was never more apparent for us that night (that he had the goods). But none of us would have imagined that Pendles would have still been playing 21 years later.”
Scott Pendlebury playing for Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup Grand Final of 2005.Source: Getty Images
AFL legend Leigh Matthews said a key to Pendlebury’s ability to appear to have space and time was his quick thinking and reading of the game. Like a good chess player, he always seemed a move ahead of his opponent.
“He is calm and controlled and even (now) still has fantastic balance,” Matthews said.
“(He has) the ability to just take one step slightly left, one step slightly (to the) right, and that balance. He’s not a huge man, obviously, but he’s not a little fellow either, but his movement – he’s not a sprinter, so he’s not going to go and break the 100 metre record – but he’s really light on his feet for a biggish man, and he thinks his way through the through the play so well, whether it’s a quick handball or kick. He’s got great vision and all those subliminal skills add to the physical ones.”
Four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis described Pendlebury as a footy architect and said his perception of what was happening around him allowed him to influence play.
“I think with players like Scott who are in and around congestion all the time, they know where their outs are, and he knows where the space is,” four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis said.
“He knows if (Nick) Daicos is getting it here, he knows where to be for the receive. If he’s getting it, he knows where Daicos will be. How many times have we seen him handball over his head to a player who’s running onto it?
“So it’s not only upskilling yourself to get the position, it’s also upskilling your knowledge of the game and your teammates to understand where to go once you’ve got it.”
Pendles reacts after Anzac masterclass | 11:40
ALWAYS ON
Pendlebury’s status in the game is intriguing and has been widely discussed leading into his 433rd match against the Eagles at the MCG on Saturday.
His best footy arguably came during an era where the Magpies were at a relatively low ebb, with the champion winning four of his five Copeland Medals between 2013 and 2016.
The left-footer did not win a Brownlow Medal and has never been considered the best player in the competition, yet he could clearly claim to be in the top ten across the competition for well over a decade.
The AFL Coaches Association named him their best player in 2013 and he has been named an All Australian on six separate occasions, while also winning a Norm Smith Medal in 2010.
To hold the games record is unparalleled. But he has built an almighty resume aside from that.
Richmond’s three-time premiership spearhead Jack Riewoldt was drafted a year after the Magpie and has always kept an eye on the progress of Pendlebury.
Having played alongside the dynamic Dustin Martin, Riewoldt said there were more damaging midfielders than Pendlebury, but very few could sustain their excellence for beyond two decades.
“I think his consistency is probably the thing that holds him up higher than most,” Riewoldt said.
“I’ve probably played with more damaging midfielders and played against more blast and damaging midfielders, but a curator of the game and someone who – the term quarterback gets thrown around a lot … in the AFL, but he was also a general – and there’s a craft to that.
“It’s funny how the game has gotten so fast that it has actually probably helped him, because thinking fast will always be better than running fast, and that’s a great part of our game.”
The Magpies trained with Sherrins emblazoned with the mark that Pendlebury will set on Saturday. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia
Burgoyne said that similarly to a Martin or Patrick Dangerfield or Gary Ablett Jnr and so on, players would prime themselves for the challenge of going up against Pendlebury.
“There’s certain players in the league whom I’ve played against in the past (and) you just know you have to prepare yourself to the max of your ability, because you know what’s coming back the other way,” Burgoyne said.
“If you don’t prepare yourself the right way and give him the respect he deserves, he’s going to make you look silly on the oval, and there’s a number of players like that.
“Every time we played against Geelong, you had to prepare yourself because you knew Joel Selwood was coming back the other way and he’s not taking any prisoners. You knew when you played Freo when Fyfey (Nat Fyfe) was at his best, you just had to be prepared because if you didn’t bring your best, he was going to make you look silly.
“And there’s a number of other players like Dusty Martin or like Patrick Dangerfield, these are the all-time greats of the game, and it can even go back further to when I was a young kid watching all these great players like Mark Ricciuto, and Scott stands equally amongst all of them.
“You had to prepare to be your best at every stoppage in every game whenever he was standing next to you because you just knew he was going to be on top of his game.”
Matthews, who coached the Magpies to the 1990 premiership, said there was far more to Pendlebury’s worth than his ability to win the footy in the middle and set up his teammates.
“I haven’t been inside the club (and) we watch it from the stands but if you just talk about inside the white line … what he’s done is an individual player, that’s been huge,” he said.
“I don’t know whether Pendles has ever been in the top five players in the game category, but he’s been excellent for such a long period of time, but then you add that other part, the on-field coaching part of it, and … that means you are incredibly valuable and he’s been that for a long time now.”
THE CAPTAIN-COACH
As classy a competitor as the Collingwood champion has been, his leadership along with his longevity elevate Pendlebury to among the finer footballers to have played.
The captain of the Australian cricket team is considered to have the second most important job in the land behind the Prime Minister but leading Collingwood is not for shrinking violets either.
It is a role the 38-year-old held for nine seasons, including the difficult period associated with the pandemic, and the Collingwood position carries with it a higher profile than most.
Matthews paid the veteran a heady compliment when rating him alongside two premiership captains he coached, in part because Pendlebury acts like an extra coach when playing.
“His sustained excellence for a long period of time and the enormous ability to be an on-field coach, it is so valuable for the off-field coach to have someone on the field who can actually help organise what’s going on around them, always be controlled and calm under pressure,” Matthews said.
“I had a couple of those in Michael Voss and Tony Shaw in my two coaching stints (and they were) incredibly valuable and I think Scott Pendlebury has provided that. His value in that space has been huge.”
Scott Pendlebury was drafted alongside Dale Thomas back in 2005 and they starred for the Magpies prior to the latter leaving for Carlton.Source: Supplied
It is not just his guidance on the field that is important. There is far more to captaincy than that, the AFL legend said.
“Basically there are partnerships that are really important in footy,” Matthews said this week.
“You’ve got the chairman and the CEO and then you’ve got the footy manager and the coach, and you’ve got the coach and the captain, or now more so your leaders, the coach and the leaders.
“So Scott’s been the official captain, but even though he’s not the official captain now, he would still be doing the same role of the organisation, all the setups, just being able to help the players on-field players who maybe aren’t as game aware as he is to be in the right position at the right time.”
Lyon has no doubt that Collingwood coach Craig McRae would lean on the champion, just as Buckley once used to, to help craft the message and enhance the work of younger Pies.
“I think the ultimate level of respect is that he can coach on field and Craig McRae … wouldn’t bat an eyelid,” Lyon said.
“He would have the license to do things out on that field that very few players would have had in recent times, and captains are leaders, and you know they lead by example. One of the key components of captaincy is to be able to mirror what your coach is trying to sell pre-game in the week leading up and then get out on field and continue to reinforce the message.
“The next aspect of that is to take it to the next level. Well, that message is not quite working well. That’s not relevant today, but I can see where it needs to go next. I don’t think many players get to that level and it’s the old cliche (about the) on-field coach, but he is and that must be incredibly invaluable to see their coaching staff.”
Pendlebury speaks on appearance record | 01:53
MARCHING ON
To deliver on the biggest stage is the prime goal of every athlete and Pendlebury has a Norm Smith Medal that perfectly illustrates his legacy. He is a consummate performer when footy is at its hottest.
But his deeds against Essendon on April 25 this year when setting a new personal record for disposals on the way to winning his fourth Anzac Day Medal, 16 years after his first, demonstrate that he remains an influential footballer.
As Burgoyne said this week, Pendlebury placed a punctuation point on his career with his performance last month.
“There’s an old saying in footy, ‘Do I count my games or do I make my games count?’” Burgoyne said.
Pendlebury, clearly, is making his games count, however many left that he has.
Acclaimed broadcaster Gerard Whateley said the atmosphere at the MCG a month ago as Pendlebury took charge on Anzac Day – his disposals were shown on the big scoreboard – was a worthy celebration for a champion who is still thriving.
“The dynamic around the playing field and the crowd, when they’re fused together by an idea and then it materialises, when the promise of something comes to full fruition and everyone’s in on it, that’s what happened as the numbers clicked over,” Whateley said.
“In that very modern way, everyone knew what was happening. The players knew what was happening. Pendlebury knew what was happening. But critically, the crowd knew what was happening, so it has this incredible feel-good factor to it, a real legacy moment unfolding in real time.
“It owed a little bit to cricket where his possessions were ticking over like his score, so it featured on the board and when he had his record-equalling and his record-breaking disposal, people knew instantly, not in hindsight like the player who makes his 50, and you’re sweating on that last run and the century comes up. And I did have that feeling – if he had a bat, he would have raised it at one point to the crowd.”
A popular Pie – The crowds at Collingwood training this week ahead of Scott Pendlebury’s record-breaking game of AFL footy against West Coast have been reminiscent of what occurs during finals campaigns. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia
He already has four centuries and is a third of the way to a fifth, but how long will Pendlebury continue? It is an unknown.
When watching Pendlebury and the other icons of the 400-game club meet at the MCG this week, one thing is clear.
They have played more VFL and AFL games than any others, but eventually Father Time catches up with even the greats.
It is best to enjoy watching Pendlebury, and marvel at his ability to find space, to direct traffic, to provide a tip or two to a teammate and to wheel out of traffic, while you can.
There are some who lament the intense focus on this special milestone but, crucially, those who know him or have been there are not among the critics. For Pendlebury’s peers, it is a worthy celebration of his greatness.
“To be honest, I love it. This is exactly how they should celebrate greatness, because it is what we’re in the middle of,” Burgoyne said.
“We are in the midst of celebrating the greatest career longevity that we’ve ever seen in the game and I love that. I like the idea of the gold number. I like the idea of trading on this, because he deserves it.
“I think when you play for Collingwood, it’s the biggest club in Australia, they should go big and live it up. That’s what they’ve been known for. It’s great … to celebrate Scott, his family, his wife, and children, his teammates (and) his coaches, (because they) have all played a part in getting him there. (And that is why) I’m actually in favour of him having his game at the MCG in front of a big crowd.”
“He had a few more games left in him!” | 00:50