Collingwood coach Craig McRae has conceded for the first time that Scott Pendlebury may not be at the club next year, and has urged the Magpies to learn from being snubbed by Port Adelaide star Zak Butters.
Pendlebury, 38, has been ruled out of Friday night’s wildcard clash against the Western Bulldogs because of a hamstring strain, and could have played his last game for the club as the former skipper is off contract and has yet to be offered a new deal.
In an expansive interview on Wednesday, McRae revealed he has had “multiple” chats with Pendlebury since Saturday after the sport’s games record holder was injured against the Brisbane Lions, admitting on Wednesday that the decorated midfielder was “50-50″ to remain at the club for a 22nd season. He is also weighing the possibility of playing elsewhere.
The Magpies have told Pendlebury he must be confident he can play at a certain level to play on, but McRae insists there is no “friction” between Pendlebury, his manager Anthony Panozzo of Hemisphere Sports, and the Magpies. Hemisphere Sports was contacted for comment.
AFL great Leigh Matthews, who coached McRae to three flags when with the Brisbane Lions, said on the weekend that a final decision could not be left in the hands of any player.
“I heard some narrative about Pendles, letting the player, sorry, just letting the player dictate their own decisions for their future, and some commentary that they’ll just play forever,” McRae said.
“Having this conversation with Pendles the last four or five years around what’s best for him and what’s best for us, gives me great comfort that he’ll do what is best for the footy club, and also he won’t go on and play in my eyes the conversation unless he can perform at a certain level.
“So, that gives me great comfort. So hey: ‘Over to you, mate. You make those decisions when you think they’re appropriate’.”
McRae said the final decision would not entirely be made by Pendlebury.
“No, not entirely, but mostly led by conversations with him, we’re an open dialogue around that. I’m giving him some space as he’s requested, and he’ll make the decision at the end of the year,” McRae said.
Asked what he thought Pendlebury would do, McRae replied: “It’s probably just 50-50 to be honest. I can see opportunities for him to play on, and retire. I am sure he is weighing a lot of those things.”
McRae said it was up to Pendlebury, who has played 17 games this season, to determine whether his body could handle the rigours of another season.
“Well, it’s up to him in terms of whether he thinks he’s fit and viable to be able to perform at a level that is at that level. Only he knows it. He knows his body better than anyone else,” McRae said.
The 2023 premiership coach denied there was any friction between the club and the dual premiership player.
“Not one bit of friction – open dialogue, many conversations, great respect, and huge loyalty to him, great respect for him,” McRae said.
Gold Coast and Essendon have been linked with Pendlebury, where he could play and also be an assistant coach.
“He’s, obviously, weighing up around with him and his management. So it is a big story because he’s such a remarkable player for such a long time. But we’ll give him respect to the time that he’s asked,” McRae said.
The Magpies remain in the market for Brisbane Lions star Lachie Neale, and have also been linked to Jake Stringer, who is seeking a fourth club after leaving Greater Western Sydney. But they will not secure Butters, the Power gun who told club officials at his exit meeting on Monday that he would exercise his restricted free agency rights to join a Victorian team.
As reported by this masthead, other clubs and industry sources are convinced Butters will nominate Geelong as the club he wants to join.
The Western Bulldogs and Richmond have also made strong pitches for the triple best-and-fairest winner. The only club confirmed to be out of the race are the Magpies, who were told on Monday.
McRae said there hadn’t been great feedback from Butters but, shedding light on the Magpies’ sales pitch, said his club could no longer go to market predominantly focusing on the benefits of regular blockbuster games at the MCG.
“Not much [feedback], but we’ll certainly do our own review of the situation and why we aren’t in the race to acquire talent like that. But I think we’ll learn some great lessons about it,” McRae said.
“I sent Zak a message. He was really respectful, and the process was a good one. We learnt a lot about ourselves and what we need to do to acquire talent around those things.”
Asked to elaborate, McRae would not divulge specifics, but added “we want to be in the space that goes after free agents”.
“We’ve said that publicly many times. We want to be a club where players want to play. I think just offering the MCG as a supposed carrot, we need to be more than that … we have got a lot to offer.”
The Magpies are hopeful Isaac Quaynor (hip) and Patrick Lipinski (calf) line up against the Bulldogs in the do-or-die clash.
McRae all but suggested Nick Daicos would be the Magpies’ next captain when Darcy Moore steps down after the brilliant midfielder was crowned the AFL Players Association and AFL Coaches Association player of the year.
Daicos is also favourite to win the Brownlow Medal after being runner-up over the past two years.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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