Collingwood are likely to make the Magpie Army wait an extra week for Scott Pendlebury’s record-equalling game, despite the modern-day marvel amassing his most-ever possessions in a single game in the Anzac Day drubbing of Essendon.
Magpies coach Craig McRae is leaning towards resting 38-year-old Pendlebury because of the five-day turnaround leading into their clash against Hawthorn on Thursday night at the MCG.
Pendlebury, who on Saturday became the first player to win four Anzac Day Medals, is one game away from equalling North Melbourne great Brent Harvey’s 432-game record.
“I won’t make that [decision] now, but I probably think you’re unlikely next week,” McRae said to Pendlebury in the post-game press conference.
“We’ll make decisions early in the week, [and] see how he pulls up. He had a lot of time on ground, which is great for today, but maybe not for the next week. But, again, we’ll assess that early in the week.”
Pendlebury’s age-defying exploits in his 19th Anzac Day outing were nothing short of phenomenal.
In his 431st game, he rose to his greatest heights, setting a new personal high for possessions in a game – his 43 disposals surpassing the standard he set against Adelaide in 2013.
Incredibly, he won the first of his Anzac Day Medals in 2010.
His record-breaking 43rd disposal, a free kick and goal as the crowd chanted his name, came late in the final term while he was resting forward. It spoke to how long he had been in the game.
At the time, he was playing on Essendon’s Archie Roberts, a young midfielder he coached at Haileybury College four years ago.
“We won a flag together,” Pendlebury said with a grin. “So when I saw that he was on me, I thought, ‘I’ll take him deep’.
“The APS [Associated Public Schools] chat has lit up about that little match-up, so I won’t let Arch live that one down.
“But he’s had an amazing start to his AFL career. Even today, he looked really sharp for them.
“It’s a joy sitting back watching him, knowing, you know, that I’ve coached him, and we’ve got a good relationship. So I’ll always keep a keen interest on Archie.”
The humble Pendlebury said the ball simply fell his way on a special home-and-away occasion that he likened to playing on grand final day.
Of his 43 touches, 19 were score involvements – the most of any player in the competition this year.
“I was saying to Jordy [De Goey] late, even when I was trying to get away from the ball, it still had a way of finding me,” the veteran said.
“It was just one of those days for me where it sort of just kept bouncing my way … so, yeah, at 38, you take those days.”
Pendlebury would not be drawn on an end-date for his career, stating he still loved the process of preparing and playing a match.
“I’m pretty tired right now, I’m not gonna lie,” he said.
“I wouldn’t mind going home and jumping in the ice bath and putting the feet up and watching the footy, and getting to sleep by about nine o’clock would be nice … I’ll see how I feel tomorrow.”
If Pendlebury is rested next week, he would be due to play his 432nd game on a Saturday night against Geelong at the MCG in round nine – a home game for the Cats.
Then the Magpies face Sydney at the SCG in round 10, and return to the MCG the following week against the Eagles.
Pendlebury said he would prefer to break the record in front of Collingwood fans, but did not rule himself out of playing against Hawthorn next week.
“I think as ‘Fly’ [McRae] said, we’ll see how we pull up,” Pendlebury said. “It’s a quick turnaround. So, yeah, if I can recover well and pull up well, we’ll have that conversation.
“But, we’ve got a bigger picture in mind, and we’ll stick to that.”
Magpie Angus Anderson was playing in just his third game and first Anzac Day clash. The 22-year-old mature-age recruit marvelled at Pendlebury’s longevity.
“You look at him, and he’s just in a whole different time space. He has so much time with the ball,” Anderson said.
“You obviously know he’s going to go down as one of the greats, but it is a whole different thing to be lacing up your boots with him. It’s just amazing.”
Anderson said his spine was tingling when the crowd were chanting, “Pendles, Pendles, Pendles”.
“For him to do that at his age is second to none. No one else will probably ever do it,” he said.
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