Four-time premiership coach Leigh Matthews has described Collingwood’s decision to rest Scott Pendlebury as prioritizing “love” over winning games as the Magpies’ season draws to a close.
The Magpies are 10th on the ladder, with a win ratio of 4-5, having just been relegated. six points short of leaders Sydney at the SCG on Friday night.
A brave but narrow loss to the Swans with an empty squad prompted Collingwood coach Craig McRae to defend the Pendlebury club’s management – a decision-making process that will ensure he breaks the record for games at the MCG next Saturday against West Coast in front of the Magpie Army.
“Do you want to celebrate the record for the most games in the history of the game here (in Sydney) tonight – or do you want to do it next week at the MCG?” McRae said Friday night.
“That’s a simple question, and with respect, when Pendles has played so many games, we want to make sure we celebrate him in the right way.
“His body isn’t as bulletproof as you think. Five and six days off, all the data says he’s getting in line, and we’re taking care of him, and we’re going to celebrate him accordingly.”
But Matthews, the flag-winning coach of Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions, said he was not happy with the notion.
“Well, he’s going to play a record-breaking game, it’s a big event, but we’ll make sure it’s at the MCG at the expense of getting four points and your finals chances can be won or lost by a win or a loss,” Matthews told 3AW on Saturday.
“So it seems to me a little bit at the moment in terms of the passion outweighing the practicality of trying to win a lot of games to play in the final.”
Matthews said he always wanted to field his best team every week, but established clubs like Collingwood and Geelong now take a long-term view of managing players.
Collingwood’s marketing department will line up a sell-out crowd at the MCG next Saturday afternoon to watch the 38-year-old Pendlebury surpass Brent Harvey’s North Melbourne record of 432 games.
Pendlebury is expected to wear a number of special jumpers with the gold No.10 on the back during the match which will later be auctioned off, expected to raise up to $500,000 for the player.
The AFL has agreed to allow the one-off payday to be outside the salary cap, saying “any commercial arrangement between the parties around the festival remains confidential”.
Pendlebury has also chosen Elite Estate Wine to release the “SP433 Record Breaker Pinot Noir” to mark the occasion, while Collingwood chose senior players to wear commemorative SP433 jumpers instead of their Original design for the second week of the Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
“We want to assure all members and supporters we will celebrate the historic milestone of Sir Doug Nicholls and Scott Pendlebury with the fame and respect they each deserve, Side by Side,” club CEO Craig Kelly said in a recent statement.
Despite the historic significance of the upcoming fixture, Collingwood have narrowly missed Pendlebury in two of their last three games – rested during Hawthorn’s draw off a five-day break and again against the Swans off a six-day break.
The Pies were already struggling from their weight class on Friday night, missing captain Darcy Moore (concussion), winger Darcy Cameron (ankle), Patrick Lipinski (concussion), Tim Membrey (hamstring) and defender Harry Perryman.
They were further weakened by the loss of ruckman Oscar Steene during the third term after his left knee buckled during a ruck contest.
A 22-year-old rookie will undergo a suspected ACL tear in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.
But while Steene faces the rest of the season on the sidelines, debate will continue to rage this week about how Collingwood handle Pendlebury.
Former West Coast premiership coach Adam Simpson said, “I wouldn’t do that” when talking about resting the senior Magpie against Sydney.
He said Collingwood had locked in on this route a month ago when Pendlebury won the Anzac Day medal against Essendon during the match critics believed he would be rested.
Instead, he racked up his most possessions (43) in a single game.
“It goes back to Anzac Day. If you really wanted to win every week, you don’t play on Anzac Day,” Simpson said on SEN on Saturday.
But Simpson said he was happy to move on and fully embrace Pendlebury’s history-breaking moment.
Former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said the issue would come up again at the end of the season if Collingwood were still fighting for a place in the finals.
“We shouldn’t talk too much about it, but when the season gets really tough at the end of the year, like at the end of the year, where they finish and where they don’t finish, and you see that you had a choice, and you made the right choice,” Hinkley told SEN.
“I believe he chose to have his record-breaking game at the MCG in front of 100,000 people, which he should have. But planning for the season is very difficult.”
Steene, 22, was helped off the floor at a crucial point in the third quarter after his left knee buckled during a ruck fight. The Pies were leading by 17 points at that stage.
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