AFL 2024: Collingwood promises its best in Scott Pendlebury’s milestone game
Collingwood coach Craig McRae has a firm message to Magpies fans ahead of the club’s biggest game since last year’s grand final.
AFL
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Collingwood coach Craig McRae has pledged the Magpies will “turn up” for Scott Pendlebury’s 400th game against Carlton on Saturday night and urged fans to do the same.
McRae said the Magpies would not shy away from building up the occasion internally as “sore” teammates pushed hard to make it to the starting line to honour Pendlebury.
He said he was still “unsure” of Jordan De Goey’s availability for the blockbuster clash as he battled an ongoing groin issue but was more confident that Beau McCreery and Nathan Kreuger would be up for selection.
“I’m not sure, I don’t think so,” McRae said when asked if De Goey would need surgery at the end of the season.
“It’s too far out (to know if he is fit to face the Blues) … I’m still unsure, I really am. I think even our medical team is unsure.”
It was only a 26-point win over the bottom side, but McRae said the Pies had left Sunday’s clash against Richmond “really proud” of improvements to their brand of football.
He said the returns of Mason Cox and Daniel McStay to the forward line had given his side important structure that was making life easier for the midfielders delivering the ball inside 50.
“We got some really positive numbers – our time in forward half was the best for a long time, our pressure (rating) was the best since round 13 … a lot of things sort of flowed off that,” he said.
“At the moment, it’s not quite a trend yet – it’s a one-week thing – so we want to make that a bit more of a pattern.
“The feedback from the players in particular was it’s nice to have someone seven-foot tall to kick it to, and again, that will add layers to the predictability (for teammates).
“I’m not degrading what we have, but we’ve had a lot of smalls playing key roles.”
McRae repeated that Pendlebury had been “remarkable” in all aspects as he stood poised to become the sixth VFL-AFL player to reach 400 games on Saturday night.
As well as his famous “time and space”, he said Pendlebury should be lauded for his family-first attitude and his crucial leadership on the field.
“It’s probably the family stuff that I’ve seen in recent years – his kids in the team meetings, and (wife) Alex and the broader Pendlebury family,” McRae said.
“I think he’s revelled in that at this stage of his career, so he’s really invested in his family – it’s something that he should be really proud of.
“You’d be amazed on-field what he does – even subbing him out on the weekend to protect him for next week, he’s there just so invested in others and he’s calling shots. He’s just so in tune with what we need, and to have an asset like that on the field, every club would die for him.
“He’s more than an (on-field coach), he sees things before we see them. This week, if you do nothing else, go watch him – he orchestrates everything.”
McRae said there was no “it’s just another game” talk in the Magpies camp before a clash that could also determine their finals chances.
“This is the one that we write down in our calendar, and we want to turn up for this one,” he said.
“If you’re umming and ahhing about going to the game this week Collingwood supporters, stop – get to the game, we’ve got one of our greatest-ever players celebrating a huge milestone against our biggest rival. C’mon, what are you doing? Get to the game.”
The AFL formally congratulated Pendlebury on Tuesday for his achievement, with chief executive Andrew Dillon calling him the “epitome of skill”.
“For 19 seasons, it has been our privilege as fans to watch Scott Pendlebury play our game,” Dillon said.
“I also want to call out his leadership for the game, in his regular interactions with the AFL during his time as skipper of Collingwood, and his thoughtfulness and insight into the future direction of our game.
“The 400-club in our game requires an incredible love of footy and Scott will sit easily among the greatest we have seen.”
Originally published as AFL 2024: Collingwood promises its best in Scott Pendlebury’s milestone game
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