A Historic Game and the Unseen Celebration
In the immediate aftermath of his record-breaking game, an exhausted Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury was clearly done with the spotlight. The fanfare around his 433rd game reached fever pitch in the week leading up to the win over West Coast, with much debate about the bespoke golden jumper Pendlebury was set to wear and the 100 per cent share of merchandise sales he was set to receive.
However, the Magpies had one last surprise in store for everyone, revealing right before the game that every player would be running out with a golden number on their back. This had not been reported at any point in the lead-up. The belief was Pendlebury would be the sole Pie in the gold, hence Collingwood legend Tony Shaw stating he was “uncomfortable” with the situation.
The AFL reportedly ticked off on the change during the week, though Collingwood coach Craig McRae suggested the club might get “in trouble” for making it happen. Pendlebury however seemingly knew well in advance that every player would be running out in gold, even if his teammates, the media and the fans had no idea.
Clearly fed-up with the amount of coverage and reporting surrounding every aspect of the game, the veteran midfielder took a dig at the media in the moments after the game.
“I knew for a while,” Pendlebury told Fox Footy in the Collingwood rooms. “Really proud of the club that that didn’t slip out. There’s a lot of people out there that try and find that stuff out and not for the good of the game, for the good of themselves. I’m glad that got all the way through and we knew it was happening, so I thought it looked incredible. All the boys were so pumped and it looked amazing.”
Pendlebury admitted that he wasn’t fully prepared for the level of coverage the game would receive, despite North Melbourne champion Brent Harvey, the previous record holder, telling him what would unfold.
“A lot of stuff throughout the week was surreal. I know Brent Harvey said to me earlier in the week that the week would be madness and I didn’t know what he meant and it was a bit of fun, but at times it caught me off guard,” Pendlebury said.
He added that he was enjoying a quiet moment and a soft drink with teammates before being called up to do more media after the game. Pendlebury had already done an interview out on the ground moments prior.
Despite the debate that raged in the lead-up, Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd praised both Collingwood and the AFL for the execution on the day.
This included applause for Pendlebury at the 10th minute mark of the first quarter, bespoke signs and banners handed out to fans, a fireworks display at the end of the game and the on-field interview with Mark Howard.
“It was done really well by the club, I thought by Collingwood and the AFL,” Lloyd told Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
Adelaide champion Rory Sloane added: “It was a really classy celebration.” “What a moment for Pendlebury and the fans. That’s a moment that’ll be etched in time. Those fans will remember it forever. The gold numbers, it was incredible scenes at the MCG.”
Geelong Norm Smith Medallist Isaac Smith jokingly added that Pendlebury should request $1m from the AFL, given the 90,000 fans that rocked up to watch him break the record and the attention and eyeballs created by the storyline surrounding the match.
“He should march into (Andrew Dillon’s) office tomorrow,” Smith laughed.
