Bobby Hill a lock to play Round One according to Scott Pendlebury
Attention SuperCoachers! Former Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury says this off-season signing is a certain starter against Geelong, regardless of Jack Ginnivan’s suspension.
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Former Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury says new recruit Bobby Hill is set to add a speedy new edge to the club’s forward half after an “outstanding” summer.
Pendlebury said the former GWS jet was a lock to play in the club’s season-opening blockbuster against Geelong under lights regardless of Jack Ginnivan’s four-match suspension for using illicit drugs.
“Bobby is something we don’t have in our side – that lightning-quick, really skilful outside forward,” Pendlebury said.
“He has had that good a summer that his name would have been on the magnet board anyway regardless of the situation with Jack.
“Bobby has been very exciting and has really embraced the program, so I think he will really flourish.”
The champion ballwinner said the Magpies had thrown their arms around Ginnivan but had to “move forward” quickly in preparation for its final pre-season clash against Hawthorn on Thursday in Launceston.
Ginnavin, 20, was filmed taking illicit drugs in a toilet cubicle at Torquay Hotel and has apologised. He will not be available for senior selection until the Magpies’ round 3 clash against Richmond on Friday March 31 at the MCG, but may have to press his case in the VFL first.
“We will support him, but the season is just around the corner so we have got to move forward,” Pendlebury said.
“He has got a nasty injury (cut leg) he is working back from, but the reality is the season is almost here, so we have to get ready for that.”
Pendlebury flags modified role for Magpies’ star recruit
Collingwood is confident superstar onballer Tom Mitchell can have a big impact around the ball without having to post massive possession totals this year.
The brilliant hard nut has made a seamless transition to Collingwood, where he went to help win a flag after participating in four finals campaigns in nine years at the Sydney Swans and Hawthorn.
Former Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury said it was clear the Magpies needed to bolster their engine room as he prepares to spend more time at half-back in 2023.
The Magpies are again preparing to play a fast-paced game style, with Pendlebury adamant Mitchell will suit the Magpies’ tempo alongside jet goalkicker Jordan De Goey and second-year sensation Nick Daicos.
While Mitchell has been one of the league’s top ballwinners over his career, averaging 29.5 possessions over 171 matches, Pendlebury said his new teammate’s defensive pressure and selflessness would also shine in black and white.
“It is not going to be the Tom Mitchell who goes out there and has 35 or 40 possessions every week,” Pendlebury said.
“It’s the Tom Mitchell who dominates around the footy and is a beast around the ball, but also puts on pressure, tackles, and he probably doesn’t feel like he has to be best on ground for us to win.
“He has just got to do his job because he addresses a great need for us. We haven’t been great around the footy with our clearance work and that is his one-wood.”
Mitchell, 29, faces a blockbuster match-up against new Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield in round 1 at the MCG in a huge test for the new-look Magpies.
Pendlebury, who was speaking to News Corp at the launch of his new fitness app Templ, said the Magpies will again roll out a quick, attacking battle plan.
But he said the club would not rely on getting out of jail in the last quarter so often in 2023 after the comeback kings pulled out a fairytale first season for Craig McRae, jumping from 17th to third position last year.
“We will play much the same (style),” Pendlebury said.
“We played our style for about 50 or 60 per cent of games and I feel like in the finals we were close to 70 per cent (against Geelong and Sydney Swans).
“But we were on the fly a lot last year learning a lot of how we want to play throughout the weeks and trying to figure out how it all works.
“Winning 11 close games obviously helps, but we can’t rely on winning another 11 close games this year.
“We understand we start 18th and we have to build throughout the season.”
Pendlebury said he would split his time in the midfield and half-back this year, but wouldn’t rule out some positional adjustments early in the season as McRae tweaks his new-look side missing Ollie Henry and superstar ruckman Brodie Grundy.
“We are still in an exploration phase where we are still trying to figure out what our best side looks like and how we can maximise the talents in our team,” Pendlebury said.
“Predominantly I think I will still be 70 per cent through the midfield, but you have to play other roles.
“I felt like I was playing good footy at half-back earlier in the year last season but I enjoyed going back into the midfield too, so wherever I can get a game, I will play.”
Tigers CEO blasts ‘unfair’ Magpies’ MCG deal
– Rebecca Williams
Richmond boss Brendon Gale has labelled a longstanding deal that gives Collingwood favourable seating arrangements at the MCG as “unfair” and “prejudicial” to the Tigers’ interests.
The Tigers’ chief executive is pushing for change and a mid-year resolution to ongoing negotiations between the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Magpies over a decades-long arrangement, which Gale said failed to reflect his club’s contribution to the “status of the MCG”.
Under the arrangement, which also impacts MCG tenants Melbourne and Hawthorn, the Magpies have rights to reserved seating for members in the Ponsford Stand for both home-and-away games.
The deal means the Tigers, Demons and Hawks must relocate their reserved seat members when they play home games against Collingwood at the MCG.
The MCC is in discussions with Collingwood over the agreement, but would not comment on the status of the talks, which were in commercial confidence. The Magpies’ current agreement with the MCC expires at the end of this year.
Gale is seeking the same access for a Richmond home game against Collingwood as the Tigers have against every other club.
“It’s not so much us v Collingwood, but people want to characterise it that way,” Gale said.
“But we’re not happy and it’s basically because, at its most simplest, it’s unfair and it has been for a long time.
“That deal was struck and there were circumstances at the time which may have warranted it, but for the last 10 years it has been prejudicial to our interests.
“We are asking our members, thousands of members and reserved seat holders, who pay good money and coterie group members, who use the room up there in the Ponsford Stand, when we play a home game v Collingwood, they have got to move.
“From our point of view, we don’t think the current arrangements are fair and they don’t reflect the substantial contribution we have made to the standing and status of the MCG, and similarly the other tenant clubs.
“What we are seeking is the same access, the same entitlements, the same benefits for a Collingwood home game as we have for every home game, it’s quite simple really.”
The deal only impacts the Tigers and other tenant clubs when they play Collingwood as the home team.
Richmond will face Collingwood at the MCG in round three for a Magpies’ home game.
Gale said the deal impacted the Tigers’ members’ match-day experience, but also bore a financial cost.
“There is the inconvenience which really affects the match-day experience and the experience at the stadium,” Gale said.
“But there is a cost as well because it impacts the value of those memberships, so they have got to be discounted to some extent and it all adds up.”
Gale wants a resolution to the issue by mid-year so the club can begin planning for 2024.
“We have to have the issue resolved soon because not long after the season starts, we begin to finalise and price membership programs and membership products for season 2024, which is then fed into budgets around June, July, August that period.
“So the clock is ticking and we want to get some sort of clarity in the not too distant future.
“We have been open and frank and transparent with Collingwood. For the last decade, I have been talking to the administration saying ‘I want you to understand, so you don’t hear it third hand, we don’t like these arrangements, they are prejudicial to the interests of our club’ and we are seeking to revisit them’. so that has been very consistent, very open and transparent.
“Those discussions have been had consistently with the MCC … I am confident we are getting a good hearing. We have a really important relationship (with the MCC). They are our landlords, but it’s a much more constructive relationship than that and we really enjoy our relationship with the MCC and I’m confident we’ll get to where we need to get to.”
The Magpies did not have any further comment to make beyond the statement issued to its Club 5 members and Legends Members from new chief executive Craig Kelly.
“Our club has held a long-term relationship with the MCC and the AFL regarding member seating allocations for games at our home-ground venue,” Kelly wrote.
“Our current agreement expires later this year and we remain in ongoing conversations with the MCC, AFL and other tenant clubs as we work towards getting the best deal for our Club 5 and Legends Members, whose unwavering support has been pivotal to the MCC’s success over a long period of time.
“Having just arrived at the club, the importance of getting this deal right is not lost on me and I assure you that I am absolutely committed to working with the MCC, the AFL and other tenant clubs to ensure we can continue to provide members with the best experience at the MCG, particularly in the Ponsford Stand.”
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Originally published as Bobby Hill a lock to play Round One according to Scott Pendlebury
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