As Collingwood Football Club icon Scott Pendlebury stands on the cusp of breaking the Australian Football League’s all-time games record this Saturday, the veteran midfielder says he is focused on sticking to his usual routine rather than getting swept up in the hype surrounding the unprecedented milestone.
Pendlebury, who will notch his 433rd AFL appearance this weekend when Collingwood faces West Coast at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground, acknowledged that the weeks-long lead-up to the record-breaking match has disrupted his consistent preparation rhythm. Still, the champion player confirmed he will pause to soak in the moment when he runs onto the ground, a habit he has cultivated throughout his decades-long career and shares as advice with young rising stars.
“I think one thing I have always done, I appreciate the game for what it is,” Pendlebury told reporters on Monday. “Every week regardless if it’s this week or not, I always take a moment to look around at the stands, find my family, try and say g’day. I always say to the young guys that ever play their first game, one bit of advice from me has got nothing to do with the game because you’re good enough. But when you get out here for the first time, look around, take a moment, just to take it all in because it’s pretty cool you’re achieving your dream. I still like that myself, I still feel like I’m achieving my dream every time I get to come out here.”
The 400-game club, which includes AFL legends Michael Tuck, Shaun Burgoyne, Brent Harvey, Dustin Fletcher and Kevin Bartlett, will welcome Pendlebury into its elite ranks with an unprecedented new mark when he takes the field Saturday. When asked about the milestone, Pendlebury added that he expects to wander the ground taking in the atmosphere before the match, saying “There will be a part where I come out here and probably look lost or whatever, but I’ll just be wandering and taking it all in.”
Collingwood has faced public criticism in recent weeks over how it has managed Pendlebury’s milestone schedule. The club rested the star midfielder in two consecutive matches leading up to Saturday’s game, which resulted in a draw against Hawthorn and a one-kick loss to an opponent, leaving fans and analysts questioning the decision to bench their leader for those contests. But Pendlebury has thrown his full support behind the club’s planned timeline, noting he was never likely to play against the Hawks even without the milestone context.
“It’s an interesting one, we planned out at the start of the year a schedule to manage me for the whole season,” Pendlebury explained. “I’ve spoken about this before, but we’ve taken the long view of getting through the whole season. I certainly didn’t plan to have an achilles injury round 3 or 4. There was no chance, it was funny, I think I seen somewhere that I was moving well before the Hawthorn game. If you had of seen my GPS and top speed, you would probably run faster than me that day. I am comfortable with where it sits and I am really looking forward to Saturday.”
The milestone match will see Pendlebury wear a special gold number on his Collingwood guernsey to mark the historic occasion, with thousands of fans expected to pack the MCG to witness the record-breaking moment.