Collingwood coach Craig McRae has described Scott Pendlebury as the โleast selfishโ person at the club, saying the veteran is struggling with the attention of his looming record-breaking match.
Pendlebury will equal Brent Harveyโs mark for most games of 432 in VFL/AFL history when he returns for the Magpiesโ clash with Geelong at the MCG on Saturday night.
The 38-year-old will then rest for Collingwoodโs trip to face Sydney at the SCG, before breaking the North Melbourne championโs 10-year-old record against West Coast in round 11.
โWeโve got a deliberate plan; Pendles hasnโt played too many five-day breaks in his history,โ McRae said on Thursday.
โThatโs been reported around being selfish, I would have thought Pendles is probably the least selfish person in our team.
โBut he wouldnโt have played last week, he wasnโt in a position to play physically.โ
McRae insists Pendlebury deserves all the attention that comes his way after a glittering career that started back in 2006.
โHeโs about to break the games record, thatโs so significant in our game,โ he said.
โWeโll continue to celebrate this incredible player within our building, and not walk past it. You donโt get to have legends, actually a living legend in your building.
โWhat heโs currently doing is quite remarkable. Weโre all seeing that we donโt want to walk past that.โ
In his record-breaking match, Pendlebury is expected to wear a gold number on his jumper to mark the occasion.
The reports prompted derision from rival fans and even 1990 Collingwood premiership captain Tony Shaw.
โIf weโre just considering that someoneโs bigger than the team for that one day, canโt we celebrate one person?โ McRae said.
โIt doesnโt mean heโs going to play outside the rules, doesnโt mean heโs going to play different to our game plan. It doesnโt mean the teamโs going to just try to give him the ball all the time.
โIf itโs a jumper with a different colour, weโre probably reading a bit too much into it.โ
Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill had been training strongly and pressing his case for a return to the senior team following strong performances in the VFL.
But McRae insists Hill needs to further convince coaches he is ready for an AFL return.
โHe didnโt play a full game last weekend, as much as we like what heโs doing on the field,โ McRae said.
โHeโs still got a lot of work to do. This is a long time that heโs been out of the game. Heโs working towards that again.
โSome of itโs performance, some of itโs around his ability to get through a full game, which heโs not quite doing.โ
AAP
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