Collingwood: Craig McRae earns pay bump, Scott Pendlebury has game 400 in his sights

Collingwood has rewarded coach Craig McRae with a beefed up contract while veteran Scott Pendlebury now has the chance to reach 400 AFL games with the club.

Collingwood have extended the contract of star Scott Pendlebury (L) and coach Craig McRae (R)

Collingwood has rewarded coach Craig McRae and former captain Scott Pendlebury with contract extensions, handing the champion midfielder a chance to play 400 AFL games.

The Magpies re-signed McRae to a new a two-year deal which includes a pay rise for the brilliant senior coach who took the club to a preliminary final in his first year in charge last season.

McRae, 49, was already locked-in until the end of next year, but the early contract extension will keep him at the club until at least the end of 2026.

The Magpies have handed head coach Craig McRae a two-year extension. Picture: Getty Images

Pendlebury, 35, was handed a one-year extension after another excellent start to the season averaging 23 disposals a game this year.

The new agreement will give the 370-gamer a chance to crack the 400-game mark if he can remain uninjured through the back half of this season as the Magpies make a serious tilt at the 2023 premiership.

Only five players (Brent Harvey, Michael Tuck, Shaun Burgoyne, Kevin Bartlett and Dustin Fletcher) have played 400 games or more.

Currently Pendlebury is 11th on the all-time games-played list, two matches behind Sydney Swans’ champion Adam Goodes (372).

The deal puts Pendlebury in position to play over 400 games with the Pies. Picture: Michael Klein

Pendlebury is one of the best players in the game’s history, having won six All-Australians, five best and fairests and one Norm Smith medal.

The announcement of an early extension for McRae is a slight surprise considering he was already locked in until the end of next year, but the Magpies wanted to reward his excellent coaching efforts so far over his first 18 months in the job.

The Magpies are thrilled with the leadership and transformation of the club and its culture under McRae, a former Richmond premiership assistant coach who took over from Nathan Buckley.