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Updated May 23, 2026 \u2014 8:20pm,first published 7:49pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Scott Pendlebury\u2019s extraordinary, historic achievement in breaking the VFL\/AFL games record was, by its very nature, an individual accolade.<\/p>\n Playing his 433rd game, the Collingwood champion snapped a tie with North Melbourne great Brent Harvey and climbed atop an all-time leaderboard that includes such longevity luminaries as Michael Tuck, Shaun Burgoyne, Kevin Bartlett and Dustin Fletcher.<\/p>\n Everything was deservedly about Pendlebury, from the \u201cSP433\u201d tagline to the Magpies\u2019 renamed one-game memberships \u2013 \u201cPendleships\u201d \u2013 and the standing ovation of 90,028 fans at the 10-minute mark of the first quarter.<\/p>\n Puma even paid to change the AFL Record to The Scott Pendlebury for this special week.<\/p>\n The 38-year-old black-and-white marvel played his first AFL match on June 3, 2006, so he has witnessed enormous change in the world and the way his sport operates and is covered.<\/p>\n For context\u2019s sake, the first-ever tweet was sent three months before Pendlebury\u2019s debut game. Later that year, Facebook was opened to the public.<\/p>\n Countless AFL rules have changed since; Gold Coast and GWS have joined the league; and Pendlebury has played in two premierships, received the 2010 Norm Smith Medal in the grand final replay, captained the Magpies in 206 games, won five Copeland Trophies and made the All-Australian team six times.<\/p>\n There has also never been more people talking about the Australian game \u2013 and increasingly trying to be the loudest and most controversial voice.<\/p>\n Pendlebury\u2019s occasion, particularly the weeks leading in, has been a fascinating snapshot of the climate he and fellow athletes now compete in, including some negativity somehow creeping into even this moment.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s [been] some negative stuff, but the amount of positive stuff, the number of messages \u2013 I reckon I would have received over 1000 messages this week \u2013 [was incredible],\u201d Pendlebury said post-match after the Pies won 13.14 (92) to 12.10 (82).<\/p>\n \u201cIf there are three or four people who want to be negative, and go that route, jealousy is a funny thing, isn\u2019t it? The amount of positive stuff and positive messages was unbelievable, and most importantly, they\u2019re from people I respect.\u201d<\/p>\n Pendlebury is never likely to forget the standing ovation from his adoring fans, which he responded to with an appreciative thumbs up.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was crazy to look up and see the whole game sort of stopped. I don\u2019t know if it was supposed to stop, but the West Coast guy didn\u2019t want to kick it in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt was phenomenal just for everyone to acknowledge me. It was a little bit uncomfortable at the same time, but I wanted to say thanks to everyone. I was saying before to the boys [that] I\u2019m not a very emotional person, but walking up the race [pre-match] nearly got me.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were so many people who played a big part of making my career so much fun and I reckon it could have taken me an hour to get out onto the ground if I\u2019d gone past and thanked every person \u2013 but it was an incredible experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Pendlebury and the club copped criticism for him resting in two of the previous three games to ensure his record-breaking match would be a Collingwood home game at the MCG. But his original plan was for it to land against Geelong before an early season Achilles issue put a spanner in the works.<\/p>\n Related Article A money-grabbing narrative was also peddled, which suffered a blow when Pendlebury revealed on the Ausmerican Aces podcast<\/a> on Thursday that just one \u2013 not 12 \u2013 of his match-worn jumpers would be auctioned.<\/p>\n Instead, his family and Collingwood would receive most of them. His kids, Jax and Darcy, designed the boots he played his milestone game in.<\/p>\n It was also a Magpies initiative, not his own, for the lion\u2019s share of memorabilia proceeds to go to Pendlebury instead of Collingwood pocketing about one-third of them.<\/p>\n He will also donate a decent portion to the My Room children\u2019s cancer charity.<\/p>\n Ex-Saint Nick Riewoldt directed blame at the AFL while providing hyperbolic commentary on how clubs could turn milestone matches into an opportunity to manipulate the salary cap. It was classic 2026 football media melodrama.<\/p>\n Then came the spine-tingling moment that Pendlebury ran onto the MCG on Saturday afternoon. We knew last month that the AFL gave him special approval for the No.10 on his back to be in gold.<\/p>\n Even that caused a stir. The club\u2019s previous games record-holder, 1990 premiership captain Tony Shaw, was \u201cuncomfortable\u201d with it, feeling the gold number made it too much about him and detracted from the team.<\/p>\n But there was one more twist.<\/p>\n Not only was Pendlebury\u2019s No.10 in gold, but each of his fellow Magpies\u2019 numbers were, too, much like how Harvey\u2019s North Melbourne teammates wore the same jumper with \u201c427\u201d across it when he overtook Tuck a decade ago. Pendlebury was thrilled it remained a secret.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad we could keep it under wraps because there are a few people out there who love to leak that sort of stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey do it because they want to try and steal the moment from the club and the fans, and I don\u2019t respect that sort of work that people do. I\u2019m really glad, as a football club, we could keep that under wraps for a long period of time because I think the fans deserved to see it first.\u201d<\/p>\n Collingwood coach Craig McRae summed everything up wonderfully: \u201cIf we\u2019re just considering that someone\u2019s bigger than the team for that one day, can\u2019t we celebrate one person?\u201d<\/p>\n If ever a player milestone warranted the limelight, this Pendlebury one is as worthy as any.<\/p>\n \u201cSince Fly [McRae]\u2019s been here; we\u2019ve been really big on actually embracing the occasion,\u201d Pendlebury said on Fox Footy pre-game.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a bit different because it\u2019s an individual award, or I don\u2019t even know what you call it \u2013 a games thing \u2013 but I\u2019ve tried to lap it up and enjoy it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty funny. I was doing some shopping in Elwood yesterday [Friday], and they clapped me when I walked out, and I was holding a pumpkin. I\u2019m getting clapped for buying a pumpkin. I\u2019ve enjoyed it, and now is the easy part, where you get to go out and play.\u201d<\/p>\n Setting this record required so much to go right.<\/p>\n Pendlebury was consistently excellent in his prime, and able to evade opponents in a way that drew comparisons to Neo in the Matrix movies. He has reimagined himself in recent seasons to be more versatile while accepting he will play fewer minutes and sit out occasionally.<\/p>\n Pendlebury is the LeBron James of the AFL, at least in as far as how much time and money he puts into his physical recovery.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Magpie still makes regular visits to ex-Hawk Scott Maginness, father of Finn, for chiropractor sessions as part of his routine.<\/p>\n Pendlebury\u2019s parents, Bruce and Lisa, stayed over on Friday night, and he spent game morning playing PlayStation with his son. To him, it was a \u201cpretty cruisy\u201d day.<\/p>\n Any chance West Coast would take it easy on him was dispelled within seconds of the match starting, when Eagles young gun Harley Reid temporarily grounded him with one of his powerful fend-offs in the centre of the MCG.<\/p>\n Kids these days have no respect.<\/p>\n A sweeping handball in the opening minutes opened Pendlebury\u2019s disposal tally, but this was not a match where he kept Champion Data\u2019s statisticians overly busy. It\u2019s not that he is not still capable: he collected 43 touches and kicked two goals in collecting his fourth Anzac Day Medal only weeks ago.<\/p>\n West Coast, and specifically Dom Sheed, broke Collingwood hearts with his last-gasp goal in the 2018 grand final and the new-age Eagles provided genuine nuisance value until the dying minutes on Pendlebury\u2019s day.<\/p>\n They were within three points until a Dan McStay goal provided the impetus for some match-saving Magpie resistance. Darcy Moore and more seriously, Jamie Elliott suffered injuries getting there, which soured the occasion somewhat.<\/p>\n Pendlebury, too, was off and on the ground with his own ailment, an ongoing issue with his left hand, in the second half, but he knows by now that football rarely provides perfection.<\/p>\n Circus or not, the Magpie army ensured Pendlebury\u2019s moment was a major celebration.<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Scott](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8830e27c7e2af1d9252fb46b5d2c7ad84496edc1.jpeg\")
Scott Pendlebury and Brent Harvey embrace right before the Pies superstar overtook \u201cBoomer\u201d for the VFL\/AFL games record.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Pendlebury](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/12cc3738f5924e0e2273951a47a11790f9d1bca5.jpeg\")
Pendlebury walked onto, and left the MCG playing surface to fireworks.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Pendlebury](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/a21951a3ce5aaa1f562fef5d3d345b78a0bd92c6.jpeg\")
Pendlebury with son Jax and daughter Darcy in front of \u201cthe Magpie Army\u201d.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Harry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/36707583287fbd36714592dba8999255ec15e2a6.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Pendlebury](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1c1e547f6fadb0659d6fb80db6bae16f788967cd.jpeg\")
Pendlebury was chaired off the MCG by great mates and premiership teammates Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Pendlebury](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779583647_293_1776e1a5cb63bf6da5e4026d5902dab9c8013269d181647c887ac54bd8820337.gif\")
Pendlebury collided with Harley Reid in the early going \u2013 much to the delight of the more than 90,000 fans in attendance.Fox Footy<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ae4fcb86d60ce9f74c549c2d61060250987df1ee.jpeg\")
The horror knee injury suffered by Jamie Elliott put a late dampener on the Collingwood celebration.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Elliott](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e024ebb9217757af321524afe6c7fb7fd798a646.jpeg\")
Elliott and Pendlebury in the rooms post-game.AFL Photos<\/p>\n