lanky kid playing for the Gippsland Power called Pendlebury<\/a> who caught his eye due to his ability to find space where there was none.<\/p>\nThat trait has been a feature throughout the dual-premiership Magpie\u2019s career and one cited regularly by his peers on the field and those who have broadcast a grand career.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat 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\u2019s last game,\u201d Buckley said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo in a sliding doors moment, that next bit of play we went down the field and \u2026 I kicked inside 50m and Pendles took the mark, went back, kicked his first goal, and he was away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott Pendlebury playing for Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup Grand Final of 2005.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
AFL legend Leigh Matthews said a key to Pendlebury\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is calm and controlled and even (now) still has fantastic balance,\u201d Matthews said.<\/p>\n
\u201c(He has) the ability to just take one step slightly left, one step slightly (to the) right, and that balance. He\u2019s not a huge man, obviously, but he\u2019s not a little fellow either, but his movement – he\u2019s not a sprinter, so he\u2019s not going to go and break the 100 metre record – but he\u2019s really light on his feet for a biggish man, and he thinks his way through the through the play so well, whether it\u2019s a quick handball or kick. He\u2019s got great vision and all those subliminal skills add to the physical ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows if (Nick) Daicos is getting it here, he knows where to be for the receive. If he\u2019s getting it, he knows where Daicos will be. How many times have we seen him handball over his head to a player who\u2019s running onto it? <\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s not only upskilling yourself to get the position, it\u2019s also upskilling your knowledge of the game and your teammates to understand where to go once you\u2019ve got it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pendles reacts after Anzac masterclass | 11:40<\/p>\n
ALWAYS ON<\/p>\n
Pendlebury\u2019s status in the game is intriguing and has been widely discussed leading into his 433rd match against the Eagles at the MCG on Saturday.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
To hold the games record is unparalleled. But he has built an almighty resume aside from that.<\/p>\n
Richmond\u2019s three-time premiership spearhead Jack Riewoldt was drafted a year after the Magpie and has always kept an eye on the progress of Pendlebury.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think his consistency is probably the thing that holds him up higher than most,\u201d Riewoldt said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve 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\u2019s a craft to that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019s a great part of our game.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Magpies trained with Sherrins emblazoned with the mark that Pendlebury will set on Saturday. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s certain players in the league whom I\u2019ve played against in the past (and) you just know you have to prepare yourself to the max of your ability, because you know what\u2019s coming back the other way,\u201d Burgoyne said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t prepare yourself the right way and give him the respect he deserves, he\u2019s going to make you look silly on the oval, and there\u2019s a number of players like that. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time we played against Geelong, you had to prepare yourself because you knew Joel Selwood was coming back the other way and he\u2019s 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\u2019t bring your best, he was going to make you look silly. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthews, who coached the Magpies to the 1990 premiership, said there was far more to Pendlebury\u2019s worth than his ability to win the footy in the middle and set up his teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t been inside the club (and) we watch it from the stands but if you just talk about inside the white line \u2026 what he\u2019s done is an individual player, that\u2019s been huge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know whether Pendles has ever been in the top five players in the game category, but he\u2019s been excellent for such a long period of time, but then you add that other part, the on-field coaching part of it, and \u2026 that means you are incredibly valuable and he\u2019s been that for a long time now.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE CAPTAIN-COACH<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis 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\u2019s going on around them, always be controlled and calm under pressure,\u201d Matthews said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
It is not just his guidance on the field that is important. There is far more to captaincy than that, the AFL legend said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically there are partnerships that are really important in footy,\u201d Matthews said this week. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got the chairman and the CEO and then you\u2019ve got the footy manager and the coach, and you\u2019ve got the coach and the captain, or now more so your leaders, the coach and the leaders. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo Scott\u2019s been the official captain, but even though he\u2019s 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\u2019t as game aware as he is to be in the right position at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the ultimate level of respect is that he can coach on field and Craig McRae \u2026 wouldn\u2019t bat an eyelid,\u201d Lyon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe next aspect of that is to take it to the next level. Well, that message is not quite working well. That\u2019s not relevant today, but I can see where it needs to go next. I don\u2019t think many players get to that level and it\u2019s the old cliche (about the) on-field coach, but he is and that must be incredibly invaluable to see their coaching staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pendlebury speaks on appearance record | 01:53<\/p>\n
MARCHING ON<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
As Burgoyne said this week, Pendlebury placed a punctuation point on his career with his performance last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an old saying in footy, \u2018Do I count my games or do I make my games count?\u2019\u201d Burgoyne said.<\/p>\n
Pendlebury, clearly, is making his games count, however many left that he has.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dynamic around the playing field and the crowd, when they\u2019re fused together by an idea and then it materialises, when the promise of something comes to full fruition and everyone\u2019s in on it, that\u2019s what happened as the numbers clicked over,\u201d Whateley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
A popular Pie – The crowds at Collingwood training this week ahead of Scott Pendlebury\u2019s record-breaking game of AFL footy against West Coast have been reminiscent of what occurs during finals campaigns. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
When watching Pendlebury and the other icons of the 400-game club meet at the MCG this week, one thing is clear. <\/p>\n
They have played more VFL and AFL games than any others, but eventually Father Time catches up with even the greats.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s peers, it is a worthy celebration of his greatness.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I love it. This is exactly how they should celebrate greatness, because it is what we\u2019re in the middle of,\u201d Burgoyne said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in the midst of celebrating the greatest career longevity that we\u2019ve 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think when you play for Collingwood, it\u2019s the biggest club in Australia, they should go big and live it up. That\u2019s what they\u2019ve been known for. It\u2019s great \u2026 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\u2019m actually in favour of him having his game at the MCG in front of a big crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n
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