Pendlebury rules out Selwood-like farewell, but this decider might be his most treasured
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Scott Pendlebury has emphatically ruled out a Joel Selwood-like premiership farewell, but there is another reason this grand final promises to be his most treasured.
The Collingwood champion is preparing for his fourth AFL decider, and hopes to add a second premiership to the 2010 replay triumph over St Kilda, but first with both his children â Jax, six, and Darcy, three â old enough to appreciate the moment and share it with him.
Scott Pendlebury is treasuring this yearâs grand final experience.Credit: Luis Ascui
âItâs certainly different this time around. Iâve always looked up to the people who had their kids in the [grand final] parade and stuff like that,â Pendlebury told The Age.
âIn 2018, I had my son [Jax] but he was about 14 or 15 months old. The thought turned once we won to how awesome it is to be back on this stage â but also how cool it would be to have my kids, wife [Alex] and family all involved and build some lifelong memories.
âTheyâre at a good age where theyâll remember it and be excited for it. Iâm really looking forward to having them part of the week.â
Saturdayâs grand final against the Brisbane Lions will double as Pendleburyâs 383rd game â equalling dual Brownlow medallist Robert Harvey in equal-sixth all-time for VFL/AFL matches â and there appears no end in sight for the five-time Copeland Trophy winner.
The 35-year-old, who re-signed mid-year for a 19th season in 2024, stepped down as captain in December, ending a nine-year, 206-game reign as the Piesâ longest-serving skipper, but that decision served only to refresh him.
Pendlebury is famously one of the AFLâs most fastidious preparers and now has even more time to devote to those endeavours, as well as his family, while he has relished being free of the captaincy burden.
That said, he has made clear to his successor, Darcy Moore, that he is there for support if needed, although he is also self-aware enough to not want to be âconstantly leaning over his shoulderâ.
âYou probably donât realise the number of hours you commit until you step back from it,â Pendlebury said.
Brayden Maynard, Scott Pendlebury and Jeremy Howe with a couple of young fans who were Magpies team mascots for their preliminary final.Credit: Getty Images
âThere are the couple of hours a week in the meetings, then the impromptu meetings that come up [when you are captain] â and Iâm not privy to those anymore â so my schedule is much more about myself and getting prepared for the game, or training and things like that.
âIâve certainly enjoyed going back into that routine a bit more and even getting home earlier. Being able to spend more time with my family and kids is really important.â
Pendlebury rarely, if ever, affords himself the luxury of looking back on a career that is already certain to place him among Collingwoodâs greatest players. In his eyes, there is always something more to achieve, but he also still loves the grind required to get there.
âIâve done, I think, 18 years here, and itâs flown by, but Iâve just enjoyed it,â Pendlebury said.
âThe thing with footy that I love the most is the journey from November; out here, sweltering heat, the running sessions, the training, the change rooms, the fun. Thatâs what makes it really special.
âWeâve got a special group and hopefully, come Saturday night, weâre connected for life because weâve done the ultimate together. We love being around each other, weâre a really close-knit group, and thatâs what makes football so fun. Itâs those sorts of things that I love the most.â
The Magpies will have to be at their best this weekend. They have lost six straight matches to Chris Faganâs red-hot Lions â two of them in Melbourne, at Marvel Stadium â across four seasons, something Pendlebury is painfully aware of.
âTheyâve been a tough side for us to beat for a few years, and they were super impressive the other night [against Carlton], after the first quarter,â he said.
âTheyâve got strengths all over the ground. There is talent wherever you look, on every line, for that side, so it just comes down to who can execute better on the day … itâs going to be a great battle.â
Regardless of the result, Pendlebury guarantees he will be back for the start of pre-season to do it all again.
The excruciatingly narrow defeats in the 2018 grand final and last yearâs preliminary final left no scars, at least not on him, and he remains grateful to be competing again on the last day of the football year.
âThe worst years of my career were when youâre not even in the arena at finals time, when youâre not playing because, as a group, you havenât done the work,â Pendlebury said.
âIâd rather lose a prelim every year by a point, or whatever it is, and at least be there, putting yourself around it and giving yourself a chance, than being in Europe in September.
âIâve always been one whoâs happy to lay it all on the line. This weekend, thereâs going to be a side thatâs over the moon, going bananas, and thereâs going to be a side thatâs heartbroken â but both these sides are willing to put it on the line for the ultimate.â
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