Scott Pendlebury opens up about the brutal back injury that nearly ended his career
The smooth, matrix like moves were diminishing. Instead, a serious back injury had Scott Pendlebury fighting a daily battle and questioning if his AFL career was ending before his eyes. But he was far from finished.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Scott Pendlebury was forced to consider his football mortality last year.
The pain and restriction of his little-known back problem got so bad, there were days when he could barely bend down to pick up the Sherrin, let alone lift up his son, Jax.
From the outside, there was a view that father time could be finally catching up with the champion onballer, as Pendlebury led his barnstorming Magpies into the Grand Final.
***Live stream the 2019 Toyota AFL Premiership Season on KAYO SPORTS. Every match of every round. Live & anytime on your TV or favourite device. Get your 14 day free trial >
But behind the scenes, the Collingwood captain was fighting a daily battle.
A nerve issue in his back had effectively saddle bagged the brilliant ball winner to the point where Pendlebury wondered how long he could continue playing.
“It was like there was three bricks in the middle of your back,” Pendlebury said.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SACKED PODCAST
“It was the second time we played Essendon, I think in Steele’s 200th, and when we ran out at half time I remember I couldn’t touch my knees. I thought, ‘I’m in all sorts here’
“I was waking up the next day and struggling to walk, and having a kid and a family, you are thinking, ‘I don’t want to completely break my body that I couldn’t do stuff as a dad’.
“So there were days after a game when I said to (wife) Al, ‘I can’t grab him (Jax), today’. I literally can’t bend over.
“So, I definitely contemplated that that was it.
“I thought there might be one more season left (this year), maybe, and that’s it. All over.”
Through gritted teeth, Pendlebury somehow battled on to finished third in the Copeland Trophy last year, before undergoing crucial post-season surgery to fix the nerve impingement.
At that point, football was trying hard to stare him down.
But the man who has carved a reputation as one of the most dedicated athletes in the country and one of Collingwood’s greatest players was up for the fight.
After falling only five points short of another flag last year, the premiership carrot was once again well within reach for Collingwood in 2019.
Bluntly, Pendlebury, now 31, put it on himself to rediscover top gear in his 14th season.
“Last year, I dropped away. The back stuff was difficult, but I wanted to make sure that wasn’t going to happen again,” Pendlebury said.
“When you hit 30, I think people automatically think you are in decline.
“But which way was it going to go? I looked forward to that challenge.”
In the early weeks after surgery, his comeback trail started on his own lounge room floor.
He would rise before the sun and dedicate up to an hour each morning stretching out, and angling his body over a foam roller, to begin rebuilding his trunk and regaining mobility, without the wince he had secretly carried.
Then came the dedicated once-a-week pilates sessions, and new sprint training with renowned running coach Bohdan Babijczuk.
With each step up in training load, there was always the risk of “breaking down again and going back to square one”.
But by Christmas, he was ticking off 15km — 18km running sessions around Albert Park Lake, laying the painstaking foundations for what has this season been one of his greatest triumphs of his decorated career.
On Wednesday night, the man with the Matrix-like moves claimed his sixth All-Australian guernsey, helping guide his Magpies back into the top-four.
And in Friday night’s blockbuster first final against Geelong, Pendlebury will play his 300th game, looking to lock-in another home preliminary final.
Importantly, the signature swerve is back.
“Just being able to move, bend over and change direction again,” he said.
“So many guys in the league would be playing with stuff that you might just think is soreness.
“But physically, I feel as good as I have in a few years.”
Adding to the 2019 accolades, Pendlebury pocketed a third Anzac Day Medal with 38 classy disposals in Round 6, and at Collingwood, was second only to superstar ruckman Brodie Grundy in the coaches’ votes for the year.
The five-time best and fairest winner says, throughout his comeback this season, that he has learned to relax somewhat in his trademark meticulous ways, especially since becoming a father.
This is a man who considers a mandarin a dessert, and recently kicked one of his rare indulgences — coffee — to help improve the quality of his deep sleep.
“I could have a coffee at 8pm and it wouldn’t affect me, I could sleep,” he said.
“But I listened to a podcast and it explained the science behind it … and how your body works (overnight) to spit the caffeine out rather than working to recover.
“So I have been going for five weeks now (without coffee) and I have things in my bed to track the sleep, and my REM sleep and my deep sleep has improved immensely. It has improved tenfold.”
Pendlebury also has a sunlight sauna at home, and regularly dips in his freezing lap pool by the side of his house in the middle of winter, to help his recovery.
Everything is seemingly calculated, and deliberate.
And rather than finishing up as he feared next season, the Sale product is on track to become the club’s games record holder, surpassing premiership captain Tony Shaw (313 games) and legendary goal kicker Gordon Coventry (306).
“I’ve certainly relaxed in the past few years, (laughing), I have,” he said.
“Being a dad relaxes you. Sometimes there is some emotional eating that occurs when you don’t sleep, the odd red wine to try and get you to sleep, that sort of stuff.
“But the ‘why’ is, you want to be the best version of yourself for the team.
“So I’d be doing my teammates a disservice if I didn’t perform to the level I think I can.
“That’s why I do it, because I want to be the best version I can for the boys.”
Certainly, he remains one of the most lethal ball-users in the competition, something that says as much about the skipper’s ability to make the right decision under pressure, as it does his Samurai kicking, on his left and right feet.
He plots escape routes through traffic like Houdini, fooling tacklers and picking the gaps seemingly before they appear.
And even though he is left-footed, Pendlebury handballs and bounces the footy in his right, somehow squashing an unsuspecting pigeon in the middle of the MCG last year.
As always, his focus is on quality over quantity. And, most importantly, adding some extra ink work to the 2010 premiership tattoo on his ankle.
“For a while now, I think some of the numbers in the game have been inflated,” he said.
“Teams are getting 400+ disposals, and more guys across the league now seem happy if they get 30 (possessions). I don’t know why it is 30.
“But there are certain guys out there who are desperate to get the stats, and that’s fine, but that’s their own undoing.
“I think the best players do damage with the footy, and that’s just how I’ve always tried to play.”
Originally published as Scott Pendlebury opens up about the brutal back injury that nearly ended his career
Browne to step down as Pies prez as replacement sounded out
Collingwood president Jeff Browne will depart the club at the end of the year, with the club already sounding out its replacement. GLENN MCFARLANE has the details.
Trade live: Stringer D-Day looms as Giants weigh up bold move
GWS is poised to decide whether it will ramp up its interest in Essendon forward Jake Stringer. FOLLOW LIVE for the latest trade news.