Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury expects to play beyond 2022, dismissing fears this could be his 17th and final season in the AFL.
The 34-year-old signed a two-year contract extension last October following some mild speculation regarding his playing future, before being reappointed skipper for a ninth season in February.
It was at that press conference at the AIA Centre where Collingwood's games-record holder responded to a question regarding his last year as captain by suggesting it could be his final season full stop.
But at AFL Captain's Day at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday, nine days out from Collingwood's season opener against St Kilda at the same venue, Pendlebury clarified his future.
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"I don’t see it as my last season, I've got a lot left in my body. I feel like every player should be treating it like it's their last season," Pendlebury told AFL.com.au on Wednesday afternoon.
"My time is invested in getting better today, tomorrow and then I'll worry about the bigger picture stuff when that comes.
"They were talking about the captaincy, and I actually said, 'It could be my last day, last training, last season, last whatever', and it got blown up."
Only 25 players in AFL/VFL history have played more games than the 334 Pendlebury has on the board right now, with Fremantle veteran David Mundy (354 games) the only current player ahead of the Magpie and Geelong captain Joel Selwood, who has also played 334 games.
The magical 400 is not beyond Pendlebury's reach, but despite his remarkable durability – he has averaged 20.9 games per season across 16 years – the secret behind the six-time All-Australian's longevity is his ability not to look too far into the future.
"I'm just worrying about right now," Pendlebury said.
"The reason why I'm at 334 is because in year one I treated year one like year one and tried to make the most of that and the most of year two and the most of year three. Then it just starts snowballing and you end up at year 17.
"My body feels good, mentally I still love the game – you hear players say they're cooked, but I love it – and I'm just looking forward to round one."
Despite undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in his leg at the start of the pre-season, after breaking the same bone in the incident that ended his 2021 campaign in round 19, Pendlebury has been able to complete the bulk of the program over the summer and is poised for round one after playing two practice matches across the past fortnight.
"I broke my leg here [at Marvel Stadium] and didn’t get surgery, let it heal naturally and then unfortunately second week back in pre-season slid across and heard it crack," he said.
"I had surgery and missed two and a half weeks of training but fortunately because of the time of year I was able to run pretty quickly and do some non-weight bearing weeks.
"It sounds funny to say I broke my leg but had a really good pre-season, but I have had a really good pre-season. I'm fit, ready to go and looking forward to it."
The champion midfielder is set to play across half-back for large chunks under new Collingwood coach Craig McRae, where he has already worked closely with prized father-son draft selection Nick Daicos.
The 2021 No.4 pick has quickly emerged as one of the favourites for NAB AFL Rising Star after amassing 31 disposals against Greater Western Sydney in the AAMI Community Series, following up an eye-catching effort against Hawthorn in Morwell.
"Whatever the talk is, the talk will be. He just loves footy, loves playing and loves going out there to get better. He just goes out there and plays and does his thing," he said.
"I work pretty closely with him in terms of playing back and midfield. I just encourage him to go after the game and play. He is a really good player who makes great decisions."
