Channel 7 commentator Kane Cornes has launched a scathing attack on Collingwood, accusing the club of prioritising individual milestones over team success by overusing veteran star Scott Pendlebury.
Pendlebury produced one of the finest performances of his remarkable career in Collingwood's dominant 77-point victory over Essendon on Anzac Day. The 38-year-old is now just one game away from equalling Brent Harvey's all-time games record of 432, but celebrations appear to be on hold.
The Magpies face Hawthorn on Thursday night, followed by blockbuster clashes against Geelong and Sydney. However, coach Craig McRae has indicated Pendlebury will be rested for the Hawks match before returning to face the Cats. He is then expected to be rested for the Swans game to allow him to break the record against West Coast at the MCG.
Cornes expressed disbelief that Pendlebury played 92 per cent of the final quarter against Essendon, despite the Pies having the game well under control.
“I’m not sure when at Collingwood it became about the individual and not about the team,” Cornes said on The Agenda Setters. “Scott Pendlebury should be playing this week against Hawthorn. They need him to be playing this week, but the reason he’s not playing against Hawthorn this week when they desperately need him is because they cooked him.
“They absolutely cooked him because he was chasing a disposal and an Anzac Day Medal record that we all loved and we all celebrated. Congratulations to him, but this is about the team.
“And Collingwood’s next three weeks, Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney, Pendlebury’s going to be playing in only one of those games.
“They’ve beaten St Kilda, Giants, Carlton and Essendon, they’ve beaten no one.
“He just should be playing this week. They desperately need him against this Hawthorn side, but he’s not because he spent five minutes total on the bench in the second half.
“They were 43 points up at three-quarter time. They were 14 points up at half-time. He’s 38 years old. He should have played, with this game in control at halftime, certainly at three-quarter time, five minutes of the last quarter.
“He spent the most time on the ground other than Nick Daicos as a midfielder in the last quarter. When has he ever done that? When has he ever played 92 per cent of a quarter?
“If they had managed him smartly and played him for 70, 80 minutes of this game, he plays this week.”
St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt interjected, saying it is smart management not to play Pendlebury off a five-day break. “I’ve got no issue with the management,” he said.
But Cornes argued it could derail Collingwood’s premiership bid. “They’re in it to win the premiership now. They cannot win the premiership if they don’t get over Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney, at least two of those three, in the next three weeks,” he continued.
“They’ve beaten no one. He just should be playing this week.
“Pendlebury’s never been a selfish player. It’s always been about the team. When’s it ever been about medals or individual disposal records?
“They had the perfect opportunity to manage his minutes. Yep, if you need him late and the game’s in the balance, then put him on. He just shouldn’t have played that game time. They cooked him and he should be playing this week.”
While Riewoldt had no issue with Pendlebury being rested off a five-day break, he did question the potential rest for the Sydney game. “You fast forward it, that’s where it becomes interesting. Is he going to Sydney and break the record up there? If they rest him that week then I’m on board with your point,” Riewoldt said.
“If he misses Sydney and breaks the record against West Coast then I think your point stands.”
Pendlebury turned back the clock against Essendon with 43 possessions and two goals to earn maximum votes and claim his fourth Anzac Day Medal. Speaking after the match, coach Craig McRae immediately flagged that Pendlebury would be rested against Hawthorn.
“Probably think you’re unlikely,” McRae said to Pendlebury sitting next to him about his chances of facing Hawthorn. “We’ve got a five-day turnaround, and we’ll make decisions during the week, see how he pulls up.
“(Pendlebury spent) a lot of time on ground, which is great for today, but maybe not for next week.”
