Collingwood veteran Scott Pendlebury has run onto the MCG to break North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey's VFL/AFL games record in his 433rd match, leading the Magpies against West Coast Eagles in front of a massive crowd.
The 36-year-old, who made his AFL debut in 2006, surpassed Harvey's long-standing record in the Saturday twilight fixture, with more than 90,000 fans expected to witness the historic moment.
Gold Numbers for Teammates
In a surprise move, every Collingwood player donned a gold number on the back of their jumper in Pendlebury's honour, a decision that came after the club's original plan to have only Pendlebury wearing a gold number faced criticism.
“The jumpers look good,” Magpies coach Craig McRae told Fox Footy before the match. “I'm not sure we got approval for all of them - we might get in trouble for that - but we wanted to look like a team.”
Pendlebury Reflects on Milestone
“It is different, and since ‘Fly’ [McRae] has been here we've been really big on actually embracing the occasion,” Pendlebury said. “This is a little bit different because it is an individual (milestone) but I've tried to lap it up and enjoy it.”
He added: “It's pretty funny; I was just doing some shopping yesterday down in Elwood and they clapped me when I walked out, and I was holding a pumpkin. It's been fun and I've enjoyed it, and now's the easy part where you get to go out and play.”
Custom Boots Designed by His Children
Pendlebury also wore custom-designed Puma boots, decorated by his children Jax and Darcy. “It's probably the best thing I've ever received in footy,” he said. “I was a little bit shocked when I opened them up during the week and each kid had designed a boot.”
Controversy Over Selection
The milestone match followed a period of intense scrutiny over Pendlebury's selection, with critics accusing Collingwood of “hand-picking” West Coast as an easy opponent for his record-breaking game. Pendlebury was “managed” in two of the previous three games, leading to a draw with Hawthorn and a narrow loss to Sydney.
“That's pretty naive to think we would do that,” McRae said this week.
Match Context
Collingwood (4-5-1) aimed to move back into a wildcard spot with victory over the Eagles (3-7), who had defeated GWS the previous week. Pendlebury expressed confidence in his team's form: “We've played some really good sides. We drew with Hawthorn and lost by a kick to the Swans, so we're playing alright footy and I think we're building.”
A crowd of over 90,000 was expected, making it the largest home-and-away attendance for a Magpies-Eagles contest and the largest crowd West Coast have played in front of outside grand finals.
“It's going to be amazing to have that many people here and we're so fortunate to play in front of these crowds all the time,” Pendlebury said. “There's nothing better than the ‘G on a Saturday afternoon in front of ninety thousand.”
Pendlebury, a two-time premiership player, six-time All-Australian and Norm Smith medallist, shared his special day with three other milestone men.
