A Strategic Move to Hinder a Legend
Former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has suggested that West Coast Eagles should consider using Harley Reid as a tagger against Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury during the latter’s milestone game on Saturday. This recommendation comes as Pendlebury prepares to break the all-time AFL/VFL games record, making his 433rd appearance at the MCG in front of over 90,000 fans.
Pendlebury will wear a special golden No.10 guernsey to mark this achievement, surpassing the legendary Brent Harvey. While Hinkley acknowledges that the Collingwood champion deserves celebration, he believes the Eagles must focus on disrupting Pendlebury’s influence to secure a win.
Hinkley highlighted the success of similar tactics used by the Eagles in their recent victory over the Giants, where Lachie Whitfield was deployed to tag Finn Callaghan. He suggests that West Coast coach Andrew McQualter might adopt a similar approach against Pendlebury.
Pendlebury’s performance in Round 7, where he won the Anzac Medal as best on ground in Collingwood’s dominant win over Essendon, reinforces the need for a strong defensive strategy. Hinkley believes that assigning young player Reid to take on Pendlebury could be key for the Eagles’ success at the MCG.
“If I’ve had two taggers in the last week and it’s proven successful, maybe you could even put Harley Reid straight to Pendles,” Hinkley told SEN Radio. “Put the 50-game milestone against the 433-game milestone and let it go. If you were ‘Mini’ (McQualter), because his responsibility is to win the game, you’d be looking at Pendles’ Anzac Day game and thinking, we can’t let him roll around and do that.”
In addition to dealing with Pendlebury, the Eagles also face the challenge of containing Collingwood’s Nick Daicos. Hinkley sees this as a valuable learning opportunity for McQualter’s team. However, he emphasizes that sentimentality has no place in the game, as the Eagles are focused solely on winning.
“Whether that’s a young player who might go and play on Pendles and be close to him… Collingwood is going to want to give him the ball at all costs,” Hinkley said. “Maybe you put Harley on him, put your best player on him, so if you kick it to Pendles, you’re going to kick it to my best player, and he’s going to be there to take you on as well, and that’s going to be a bit risky.”
Hinkley added that while there is still some sportsmanship in the game, the Eagles have no intention of honoring Pendlebury beyond the final siren. Their goal is to win, regardless of the historical significance of the occasion.
Pendlebury’s decision to rest in Rounds 8 and 10, which resulted in Collingwood’s losses, may impact their finals chances. However, this sets up an opportunity for history to be made on Saturday. Hinkley warns that this could also serve as added motivation for the Eagles to secure a victory.
The match promises to be a pivotal moment in AFL history, with both teams vying for success on and off the field. As the spotlight shines on Pendlebury, the Eagles will look to make a strategic move that could define the outcome of the game.
