Pendles 'captained' our 2023 Premiership.

[RudeBoy]

Without in any way wanting to disrespect the job done by Darcy Moore in captaining our 2023 season, if you read today's article in The Age, it should be a reminder to some, that in the Grand final, regardless of titles, it was Pendles who was our general and our orchestrator on the day, ensuring us our glorious victory. The records won't show it, but to my mind, Pendles 'captained' us that day, and it was his on-field leadership which secured us victory.

[stui magpie]

This would be the article that (I assume) Rudie is referring to.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/the-director-s-cut-watching-collingwood-s-historic-grand-final-win-with-scott-pendlebury-20240214-p5f4yv.html

Jake Nial sat down with Pendles to watch the 2023 GF and have him comment on it. Director, Captain, I'd call him a playing coach.

This bit struck me.

[duke750]

From what I have seen over the last couple of months following the GF I am in no doubt that Pendles should be a Collingwood coach some time after retirement. His situation is so different to Bucks. Pendles has better person skills than Bucks, and he appears to have better game awareness. I would hate to see Pendles end up at another club.

The difference now is that Mick was heading towards the end of his career when Bucks retired. Hopefully Pendles will retire a 3 times premiership player at the early phases of Fly’s coaching career.

By all means, encourage Pendles to dip his toes in the media, or to have time away from footy. We must ensure that this football brain stays in the club.

[Deja Vu]

Paywalled

[stui magpie]

To Scott Pendlebury, it sounded like a gunshot.

“It hit Jordy’s foot like a gunshot. It was that loud. It went gun barrel straight,” said Pendlebury of his team’s penultimate and most telling goal of the 2023 grand final, from the boot of Jordan De Goey.

Twenty seconds earlier, Pendlebury’s Collingwood Football Club had been staring down the barrel of yet another traumatic near-miss in a grand final.

In his 383rd game, Pendlebury had watched with a mix of awe and concern as an electric Charlie Cameron booted a remarkable goal to snatch the lead for the Brisbane Lions with five minutes and 31 seconds remaining.

Briefly, his mind wandered to 2018, when Collingwood lost the premiership in the final two minutes to West Coast via Dom Sheed’s fabled money shot.

“Immediately, my thoughts went to like ‘F--- ... not again. Like 2018, not again’.”

In the middle of last week, I sat in Collingwood’s theatre room to watch and review the 2023 grand final with Pendlebury, who detailed his impressions of key moments, of players and the game itself. He shared, too, communications with the bench, teammates and even an umpire.

Following Cameron’s goal, Pendlebury glanced to the Collingwood bench on the members wing, where coach Craig McRae resided. “I didn’t think the signboards were up yet, for five minutes [left] so that gave me confidence we had enough time to get a goal.”

Pendlebury approached the two guns with whom he would collaborate over the next two pivotal centre bounces: super youngster Nick Daicos, and reformed match-winner, De Goey.

To De Goey, Pendlebury said: “‘We don’t need to hit a home run in this centre bounce’ ... by that I mean, we don’t need a ripper kick back into the middle unnecessarily. Let’s just play the game, we’ll find a way to score.”

Yet what ensued was a home run – improvised by Collingwood’s centre bounce trio – within 20 seconds.

Before the bounce, Daicos asked Pendlebury, a Jedi-style instructor for the protégé, if he should shift to the forward line. “Nick asked ... if I wanted him to swap forward.

“I just sort of sort said, ‘Up to you mate, do you want to be part of this or not?’ Little test. He said, ‘No, no, I’ll stay in’.”

McRae, as Pendlebury explained, had left decisions about centre bounce personnel to those players. “Great by ‘Fly’ ... that trust to call the shots.”

Daicos won the bobbled ball from Mason Cox’s tap, flicked a short handball to Pendlebury. “I just hacked it forward, trying to take territory. Then I was sort of shocked how quick Nick got to the front and centre [from a Darcy Gardiner spoil].

“Jordy cut across, and I just watched like everyone else. I just had an awesome view.”

Pendlebury would be on the scene for the next bounce, which culminated in an improbable Steele Sidebottom goal from 55 metres. Unlike nearly everyone, Pendlebury believed Sidebottom would cover the distance after faking cramps.

In the dramatic final quarter of an exceptional grand final, Pendlebury’s role wasn’t simply to find and distribute the football; he acted, too, as on-field director, advising Jack Crisp to kick sideways rather than taking a long shot, spoiling a risqué Lion kick and controlling the tempo of the game for a pivotal period.

Pendlebury, as his friend Matthew Lloyd identified, had played the role of on-field orchestrator and coaches’ conduit.

As we sat down to watch the grand final on a cinema-sized projector screen, it dawned on the journalist that Pendlebury’s version of the grand final was indeed a director’s cut of a classic.

Moments were selected for impact, such as the concussion to Nathan Murphy, Sidebottom’s long goal, the response to the Lions’ second quarter surge, Nick Daicos’ defiant artistry, the 50m penalty against Oleg Markov (and Pendlebury’s conversation with the umpire), Pendlebury’s crucial goal late in the third quarter, Bobby Hill’s heroics.

And not just what Pendlebury did, but what he said in the heat of the final term.

Amid Collingwood’s triumph, he offered appreciation of the Lions’ brilliance and resilience.

First quarter: “I went over and gave him a cuddle and I said, ‘We’ve got this’.”
Collingwood booted the game’s opening two goals, via a too-high free to Nick Daicos and a centre-bounce surge play that saw Beau McCreery find the North Smith medal winner, Bobby Hill.

“We’ve settled really well,” said Pendlebury. “And then the guys in my mind that I wanted to play well on the day going in ... if we can get Bobby and Beau up and going and involved that’s huge for us because of their speed on the MCG, especially if they could score.”

Pendlebury had harboured concern about Zac Bailey, who booted two outlandish goals, the second a blinder in which he smothered Cox, snatched the footy, evaded, ran an arc from the boundary and nailed the hook shot.

“He [Bailey] was probably the guy I thought the night before – ‘I don’t want him to get going’ – and he’s kicked two already in the first quarter. Couldn’t do much about the one where he smothered Coxy.”

The most consequential moment was Murphy’s head blow, from an accidental Lincoln McCarthy shoulder bump. Cleared by concussion protocols, Murphy made the call to sub himself out.


“I knew he would be out [of the game]. His cheekbone had already started to swell a little bit when he was on the ground, I don’t know if it was a concussion or, I was like he’s fractured his orbital bone,” said Pendlebury, who was nearby.

“He’s our best system defender. And he started the game like a house on fire ... he allows Howey [Jeremy Howe] and Darcy [Moore] to sort of play where they need to play and Murph will pick up the pieces around that. So I was a little bit concerned.”

Pendlebury was on the interchange bench when Murphy ruled himself out. “I went over and gave him a cuddle and I said ‘We’ve got this.’ But in my mind I was thinking, ‘geez’, like, I didn’t want to lose him because he’s so important to how we play.”

Howe covered for Murphy. “Howe flipped over to [Eric] Hipwood and Crispy went back. So we shuffled that way.”

The Lions briefly grabbed the lead against the flow, via Bailey’s stunner, but the Pies had regained the momentum on the siren when De Goey unloaded from 55m. The score was 4.4 to 3.0 at quarter-time.

Pendlebury felt De Goey was among the Magpies’ best “by a mile”, despite a modest tally of 18 disposals for the game.

“It was going to be a tricky day for Jordy. [Josh] Dunkley was clearly going to go to him, and he hasn’t really been tagged Jordy, too heavily.”

De Goey was “a bang for buck player.” who had applied pressure and “fight around the contest” for teammates. Too many AFL footballers “worry about their numbers,” Pendlebury said.

“Jordy worries about winning.”

Second quarter: “I wasn’t too stressed about what was going to happen next. I was just enjoying it.”
Charlie Cameron explodes for a pair of fast and furious goals, creates another for the classy Hugh McCluggage, and Joe Daniher boots his first. When McCarthy threads one from the members’ pocket, the Lions have – in defiance of forward entries – crept out to a 13-point lead.

Pendlebury didn’t necessarily think Collingwood were in strife, though. “Games of momentum. This is their little run.” But Collingwood needed a response.

A theme that emerged from this rewatching was Collingwood’s knack for winning – and scoring from – centre bounces when challenged. This time, Tom Mitchell is the main protagonist. “Such a good kick,” said Pendlebury of Mitchell’s weighted pass to Crisp.

Crisp’s shot from 50m on an angle arrested the Lions’ momentum. “That was big ... I thought we were, marginally, the better side to this point but their potency is just next level.”

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
Scott Pendlebury.
Four Points
AFL grand final
Pendlebury rises above Buckley, Daicos to become greatest Pie
The ensuing minutes belong to Norm Smith medallist Hill, who boots his third and fourth goals – a weaving snap (his fourth) and a goal off the back of a speccie over Brandon Starcevich.

“Most important, he went back and finished,” said Pendlebury of the screamer, reckoning Hill might have booted six. Had he ever reached Hill’s heights? “Only when I hike the mountains in Arizona.”

Seconds before half-time, Pendlebury’s on the bench when Nick Daicos took the ball, got it back, abruptly changed direction and found Will Hoskin-Elliott in space. The hyphen saw Crisp open. Again, the Pies would gain a crucial goal after the siren from long range to make it 9.9 to 9.3 at the long break.

“‘Fly’ [McRae] was on the bench going off his head – get numbers back, we’re happy going in with the draw,” said Pendlebury. “Then Nick ended up with it, and he’s running. Fly’s like ‘boundary, boundary’. And then he [Daicos] ducked back inside.”

When Crisp marked, McRae remarked, “We’ll go back through the middle and we’ll kick a goal.”


“We all had a bit of a laugh on the bench.”

Mid-quarter, Pendlebury recognised that this was “an amazing game” to play in. “I wasn’t too stressed about what was going to happen next. I was just enjoying it.”

Collingwood felt positive at half-time. “The overwhelming feeling was ... we feel comfortable.”

Third quarter: “He wasn’t confident, not from there ... so I was pretty keen if there was a gap that opened up I’d dart in there.”
Collingwood are creating opportunities, but not converting for almost the duration of the quarter, which yields 1.6 to the Lions’ 2.2 from fewer chances. “We can’t kick straight,” said Pendlebury.

The game has tightened. Pendlebury felt the Lions had created better shots, such as the second goal of the quarter, a creation of Daniher, that ended with Devon Robertson in the goal square and putting the Lions in front.

Collingwood had been in command, eight points ahead, when Markov was pinged for a 50m penalty on the outer wing (umpire Simon Meredith calling him to “stand”). Markov is backpedalling off the mark when the 50 is paid.


McCluggage converts from 40m, prompting Pendlebury to approach Meredith and seek clarification. The margin is cut to two points. “In a grand final, it’s a soft goal to give up.

“I remember saying to him [Meredith] like ‘There’s 100,000 people there, he’s not going to hear you from 20 metres away’.” Pendlebury felt Markov “backs straight out” once he knew McCluggage had marked.

“I said, ‘What do you think’ [to Meredith]. He goes ‘I’ve said to him to stand.’

“It’s always a respectful discussion. You’re trying to work it so something happens later they might be like, ‘We’ve had this discussion’.” Later, Sidebottom will be awarded a telling 50m penalty. “It helped us then.”

Pendlebury booted Collingwood’s sole goal for the term, having overheard Hill’s conversation with Sidebottom after Bobby marked. “I heard Bobby say to Steele when he marked it – ‘Should I snap or should I drop punt?’ He’s not confident, not from there [the boundary]. So I was pretty keen if there was a gap that opened up, I’d dart in there.”

Hill sees Pendlebury and finds him on a reduced angle. Pendlebury slotted it from 30m, regaining the lead with two minutes left. “I was pretty glad to knock it over because we’d kicked a few points ... no, I wasn’t nervous, that’s my preferred side.”

Summary, with the score 10.15 to 11.5 in Collingwood’s favour at three-quarter-time: “We’re doing a lot right but the gap’s not in the game.”

Fourth quarter: “I just gave him the thumbs-up and said, ‘Boys ... we’re scoring again’.”
The epic final quarter brings peak Pendlebury, as player and director.

Collingwood lead for all bar the 20 seconds after Cameron’s goal. Again, they have an edge in play, without finding a goal until red time.

Cameron puts Lions in front

Pendlebury, Daicos and De Goey are in for the most critical centre bounces. Pendlebury was swapping with Mitchell. “Our break glass [at centre bounces] is just hit it to Jordy.”

Pendlebury had been told at three-quarter-time: “You’re just going to run the quarter out. I said, ‘That’s fine’.” He would take one break early. He was out there “obviously for strategy as well”.

Pendlebury will finish the quarter with 11 disposals (four contested), three tackles, and two score involvements. No numbers measure his director’s contribution.

In one passage, on the outer flank (seven to eight minutes on the clock), the veteran receives a handball from Maynard, finds Nick Daicos, gets it back and chips short to Isaac Quaynor, eating up the clock. “I don’t want to kick it back to a contest when there’s so many gaps.”

Dunkley soon is standing next to Pendlebury at stoppages, but Pendlebury says he wasn’t being tagged.

“Late in the quarter when I went behind the ball, he doesn’t follow me.”


Earlier, Pendlebury manages a trademark slow-motion baulk after gathering a loose ball, hits Jack Ginnivan in space, but Ginnivan’s rushed kick is high and to the advantage of Starcevich, not Hill. “I remember saying to him the next day ... you could kick that along the ground and Bobby would have got that.”

Pendlebury said of Cameron’s super goal: “Much as I was pissed off, I also appreciated the brilliance that took. He beat ‘Bruz’ [Brayden Maynard], who’s bloody hard to beat and then he pushes ‘Q’ [Quaynor] off the ball – who never loses one on ones ... keeps his feet, kicks a goal.”

Once De Goey has delivered the gunshot to recapture the lead, Pendlebury looked to McRae and the signboard. As emerged after the game, the signal for “Rocca” denotes that they try to score while “Presti” (as in Prestigiacomo) is code for defensive mode.

The Rocca sign remained up. “I was pointing, and I was asking him to flip it and he [McRae] was like nup ... I just gave him the thumbs up and said, ‘Boys, we’re still in Rocca play here. Like we’re scoring again’.”

From the next bounce, Quaynor gathers the loose ball after a soccer kick. He chips to Sidebottom, who is flung to the ground by Jarrod Berry on the wing. It’s a 50m penalty. Sidebottom grabs his leg, faking cramp.

Pendlebury is near his old friend, whom nearly all think won’t cover 55m. “Yes, I was confident. He’s got the breeze at his back and he’s a big kick. He just doesn’t kick big very often.”

Sidebottom’s bomb sails through. He jumps into Pendlebury in an embrace. “He hit me that hard he had to hold me up.”

Pendlebury is in the next bounce – Presti mode. He will play as the spare behind the ball thereafter.

Lincoln McCarthy has the ball as the clock ticks down. The 10-point margin demands a risk. “I knew McCarthy would come in [the corridor] ... they had to do something.” Thus, Pendlebury effects a spoil that might have led to another Collingwood goal if the ball had reached Hill goal side. A ball-up suffices.

Crisp intercept marks with three minutes on the clock, 60 metres out on a day when he’s booted two from 50m.

Pendlebury, standing inside of Crisp, advises that he kick sideways [to Howe]. “He’s got to kick that from inside the square ... I don’t think he’s going to do that, even if he gets it close and gets a point, a point doesn’t matter.” It is seconds that matter now.

Keidean Coleman gets a too-high from the stoppage and the Lions surge forward. Jarryd Lyons and McCluggage combine on the boundary, McCluggage cleverly holding the ball in play, to create a mark and goal for Daniher,. “I think Joe was their best player.”

Just 93 seconds left. “You have to get it done,” said Pendlebury.

Berry does another spin from the ball-up and gets a kick forward, there’s a scramble and Lachie Neale is legged 65 m out. The questionable advantage is paid when Bailey kicks over his shoulder. Moore fists a spoil. “Huge spoil by Darce.”

Many felt the advantage call was unfair, depriving the Lions of a final chance to snatch it. “I’m neither here nor there,” said Pendlebury of the decision. “My job’s to keep playing, isn’t it?

“If it’s an advantage and they kick it over their head and they take a chest mark, we’ve still got to play, don’t we?”

Under duress, Nick Daicos coolly kicks to Hoskin-Elliott. “That kick. Like, not many players do that.”

Pendlebury is among the throng around the footy, along with fellow spare Brody Mihocek. Mitchell draws a high contact free from Gardiner. He kicks to the loose Pendlebury, who “kicks back to Mitch”.

“Now, I’m setting up in case there’s re-entry.”

Fewer than 30 seconds remain. Mihocek boots long down the line to Cox. The Pies can’t lose.

“Never felt so relieved to hear a siren in my life,” said the director.

[think positive]

Every game I saw Pendles and Darcy talking during and after, clearly the master and his apprentice.

Maybe Darcy taking the pressure cooker all season meant Pendles could do what he does better than most when it really counted.

But the thread title to me is really disrespectful.

[pietillidie]

I'd agree with Stui; he's more like a playing coach.

You've got to hand it to Fly who perfectly melded the old with new, getting the best out of Pendles, Sidey, Tommy Mitchell and Howey. Instead of seeing what they couldn't do at their age, he optimised what they can do, which includes many things they've always been great at.

Moorey taking the captaincy, Jordy taking the hits, Nicky boy distributing, and Coxy levelling up the ruck contests again allowed Pendles' body and mind time to freshen up and reinvent. He was actually more physically muscular than ever before in the finals, which is no doubt due to worrying less about run/carry/distribute (now the job of Nicky Boy and others), and more about controlling flow out congestion and game rhythm, whether using strength, smarts or skills. That new physicality was even more important given the loss of Adams.

The whole culture is about helping players maximise their best attributes, reflected in the rise and rise of Jordy, who has matured into an explosive beast, a key element we've lacked since Swanny.

[think better]

Thanks for posting the article Stui - Pendles last quarter will be talked about for a very long time.
The Director role and his own contributions were super human

[Quincy]

Pendles probably still our real captain but he himself said earlier in the year that Darcy doing a lot of the off-field work and mentoring allowed him to better prepare for the playing side of things. Also Pendles playing in the midfield is more in a position to act as the general.

[duggieboy]

This is a great read, thanks Stui.

I really believed GWS were our biggest threat & that if we could get over that one, our chances were greatly increased.

TBH I didn't think Bris would be able to replicate their home form on the G.
Well, they pretty much did, or at the least, maximized their chances.

The insight into strategy & the tactical nous of Pendles provides a superb insight into the workings of Sweet 16. What a weapon to have

[Quincy]

Too right Duggieboy and to think that Pendles is in our best few players still. There will be a void when he leaves in leadership and on the list.

[Magpietothemax]

[piffdog]

^^ think he is on the record to say he would go and serve an apprenticeship elsewhere, but easy to see him leading the club as a coach in the future.

[RudeBoy]

[Daicos Mullets]