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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.<\/p>\n
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 \u2013 Jax, six, and Darcy, three \u2013 old enough to appreciate the moment and share it with him.<\/p>\n
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Scott Pendlebury is treasuring this year\u2019s grand final experience.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Luis Ascui<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s certainly different this time around. I\u2019ve always looked up to the people who had their kids in the [grand final] parade and stuff like that,\u201d Pendlebury told The Age<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 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 \u2013 but also how cool it would be to have my kids, wife [Alex] and family all involved and build some lifelong memories.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re at a good age where they\u2019ll remember it and be excited for it. I\u2019m really looking forward to having them part of the week.\u201d<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s grand final against the Brisbane Lions will double as Pendlebury\u2019s 383rd game \u2013 equalling dual Brownlow medallist Robert Harvey in equal-sixth all-time for VFL\/AFL matches \u2013 and there appears no end in sight for the five-time Copeland Trophy winner.<\/p>\n 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 Pies\u2019 longest-serving skipper, but that decision served only to refresh him.<\/p>\n Pendlebury is famously one of the AFL\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cconstantly leaning over his shoulder\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYou probably don\u2019t realise the number of hours you commit until you step back from it,\u201d Pendlebury said.<\/p>\n Brayden Maynard, Scott Pendlebury and Jeremy Howe with a couple of young fans who were Magpies team mascots for their preliminary final.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cThere are the couple of hours a week in the meetings, then the impromptu meetings that come up [when you are captain] \u2013 and I\u2019m not privy to those anymore \u2013 so my schedule is much more about myself and getting prepared for the game, or training and things like that.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Pendlebury rarely, if ever, affords himself the luxury of looking back on a career that is already certain to place him among Collingwood\u2019s greatest players. In his eyes, there is always something more to achieve, but he also still loves the grind required to get there.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve done, I think, 18 years here, and it\u2019s flown by, but I\u2019ve just enjoyed it,\u201d Pendlebury said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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. That\u2019s what makes it really special.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a special group and hopefully, come Saturday night, we\u2019re connected for life because we\u2019ve done the ultimate together. We love being around each other, we\u2019re a really close-knit group, and that\u2019s what makes football so fun. It\u2019s those sorts of things that I love the most.\u201d<\/p>\n The Magpies will have to be at their best this weekend. They have lost six straight matches to Chris Fagan\u2019s red-hot Lions \u2013 two of them in Melbourne, at Marvel Stadium \u2013 across four seasons, something Pendlebury is painfully aware of.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve 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 … it\u2019s going to be a great battle.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of the result, Pendlebury guarantees he will be back for the start of pre-season to do it all again.<\/p>\n The excruciatingly narrow defeats in the 2018 grand final and last year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe worst years of my career were when you\u2019re not even in the arena at finals time, when you\u2019re not playing because, as a group, you haven\u2019t done the work,\u201d Pendlebury said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been one who\u2019s happy to lay it all on the line. This weekend, there\u2019s going to be a side that\u2019s over the moon, going bananas, and there\u2019s going to be a side that\u2019s heartbroken \u2013 but both these sides are willing to put it on the line for the ultimate.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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