AFL 2024: Collingwood great Scott Pendlebury marks 400-game milestone
Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury was asked whether Boomer Harvey’s games record was in his sights. This was his response.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury insists the VFL-AFL games record is not his target but won’t rule out playing on past Brent Harvey’s 432-game tally.
Pendlebury said he would seek to play on for as long as his enjoyment continued after earlier in the week revealing he was on the cusp of signing a deal to play on next season.
The star midfielder was joined by members of the league’s “400 Club” at Olympic Park on Wednesday: Brent Harvey (432 games), Michael Tuck (426), Shaun Burgoyne (407) and Dustin Fletcher (400), with Richmond legend Kevin Bartlett (403) unavailable after undergoing a facial surgery on Tuesday.
While he did not rule out pushing past Harvey’s record after joining the five greats on Saturday night against Carlton, Pendlebury said he was not actively pursuing it.
“No, it’s not … what is a motivating factor is playing this game for as long as I can because I love it, I’m still motivated,” he said.
“And I was probably trying to think of words to say for why I’ve kept going, and I think it’s just that I’m competitive.
“Anything I do, I want to try and win. I’ll use the rule book to my advantage if I have to – whatever it is, I love competing, I love going out onto the MCG every week and trying to compete, I love that feeling when the siren goes.
“When that feeling goes, I don’t love it anymore, I feel like it’s boring, that’s when I know that it’s time to give it away – or my body fails me, but at the moment I still have that passion.”
Pendlebury acknowledged the role of Collingwood’s 2022 resurgence under Craig McRae in keeping “the fire in the belly” to spur him on.
“The last few years have been extremely fun … anyone that’s followed us has seen that. It’s a great place to come into,” he said.
“It’s just whether I’m contributing to the team and still have the fire in the belly to keep competing.
“Getting to 400 games wasn’t a target, it was just to play as long as I can play, so I’ll enjoy this 400 and not worry too much about trying to chase down a record and things like that.”
He was coy on whether he had pioneered any recovery techniques after McRae had lauded his remarkable ability to return quickly from injuries or simply play through them.
“Trying to navigate your body to play through injuries has been tricky,” he said.
“You might be coming back from a broken leg two weeks earlier or you’ve done a medial ligament and you need to try and get back in the fight, strap it up and get back out there.
“Those challenges are really tough, but I think the reason why I’ve done it or tried to do it is because I love being part of the team.”
When asked about his post-playing future, the former Magpies captain was as quick as always to defer back to the focus right in front of him.
“(Coaching) is something that I want to do. I think I sort of put it out in the sphere already. That’s something that I want to do when the time is right,” he said.
“But in terms of how far I look ahead, it’s Saturday for me and it’s going to be a huge game.
“I can’t wait to get out there with all my teammates, have all my mates and family in the crowd and do what I love doing … go there and try to get a win for this football club.”
Originally published as AFL 2024: Collingwood great Scott Pendlebury marks 400-game milestone
Revealed: The panel which will oversee Dees’ review after backflip
After rejecting the need for a full-scale review of the club all through 2024, Melbourne has backflipped. JAY CLARK reveals the three men who’ll conduct the sweeping review.
Macrae, Daniel … Bevo? The big off-season calls facing the Dogs
The Western Bulldogs have made finals in seven of the past 10 seasons but were smashed by Hawthorn on Friday night so where to now for Luke Beveridge? Plus the latest on a premiership pair.