Collingwood and Essendon Face Criticism Over Actions Toward Scott Pendlebury on Anzac Day
Kane Cornes has raised questions about whether Collingwood “cooked” Scott Pendlebury, which could have negatively impacted their chances of winning the AFL premiership in pursuit of his record fourth Anzac medal. Meanwhile, Garry Lyon has criticized Essendon’s performance in the final quarter, where it appeared they allowed Pendlebury to dominate without resistance.
Pendlebury delivered an outstanding performance, recording a career-high 43 disposals and 19 score involvements, leading Collingwood to a 77-point victory. The Pies’ coach, Craig McRae, allowed Pendlebury to remain on the field for much longer than usual, with him playing 83% of the total game and 92% of the fourth quarter.
After the win, McRae announced that Pendlebury would not be playing against Hawthorn this weekend. The team is aiming to position Pendlebury to break the all-time games record at the MCG, which he could achieve against West Coast on May 23. Currently, he is one game behind Brent Harvey’s record of 432 games. However, Cornes expressed strong disapproval of the decision to rest Pendlebury in crucial upcoming matches.
“I’m not sure when at Collingwood it became about the individual and not the team,” Cornes said. “Scott Pendlebury should be playing this week against Hawthorn, they need him to be playing. The reason he’s not playing against Hawthorn when they desperately need him is because they cooked him, they absolutely cooked him.”
Cornes acknowledged that Pendlebury’s achievement of winning his fourth Anzac medal was something to celebrate, but he emphasized that the team’s success should take precedence. “If they had managed him smartly and played him for 70-80 minutes of the game, he plays this week,” he added.
Cornes believes that Collingwood will struggle to win the premiership if they don’t secure at least two of their next three games against Hawthorn, Geelong, and Sydney. He argued that the team needs to find a balance between protecting Pendlebury and ensuring his presence in key matches.
Garry Lyon Criticizes Essendon’s Performance
In addition to the criticism directed at Collingwood, Garry Lyon took aim at Essendon’s performance in the final quarter of the match. He described their display as “embarrassing,” suggesting that the Bombers players seemed to roll over and allow Pendlebury to dominate without challenge.
“In the last quarter they just deferred to Collingwood and said: ‘Here, you guys make of this what you want to make of it. You want to celebrate Scott, we won’t go anywhere near him’,” Lyon said on AFL 360.
He highlighted that Essendon’s approach in the final quarter was particularly damaging, as it appeared they were allowing Pendlebury to take control of the game. “That’s embarrassing. And we know where they’re at. We thought they’d taken a few steps forward, and the first half was a scrappy arm wrestle and they were still in it. By the end of it, they had handed the game over.”
Lyon noted that in the final quarter, Pendlebury was seen standing alone in the middle of the ground, which gave the impression that Essendon had decided to let him have the moment. “That’s what it looked like, and that is a damning indictment on this footy club.”
