WHEN Robert Harvey started coaching at Collingwood more than 10 years ago, he could tell straight away that star midfielder Scott Pendlebury had the traits needed for a long and consistently excellent career.

As the midfield coach continued working with his star onballer over the next decade and Pendlebury ticked over major milestones, the St Kilda great began to share advice on longevity and how to maintain a high level of performance late into an AFL career.

On Friday night, Pendlebury should pass Harvey's all-time VFL/AFL disposals record of 9,656, which Harvey set across 383 games in an incredible 21-year career with the Saints, where the dual Brownlow medallist is now an official Legend in the club's Hall of Fame.

Pendlebury requires just 14 disposals to set the new record in his 373rd game, which will incidentally also see him move into outright 10th on the all-time games played list, passing Sydney champion Adam Goodes.

"You never quite know how long anyone is going to play, but you had an idea with Pendles because of the way he works and the fact he's just one of the more footy-smart guys I've ever seen play," Harvey told AFL.com.au this week.

"I've never seen anyone look after themselves like he does as well. I remember talking to him about the importance of just keeping moving as you get older, when the urge is to maybe back off a bit and protect your body.

"But I think he still manages himself pretty well and he's still an amazing player. I'm not surprised he's going past it (the record), to be honest."

Harvey has kept a close eye on Pendlebury's career since he left the Magpies in 2022 to join Hawthorn and then the Saints, and the pair still touch base regularly.

When it comes to winning the ball so consistently over an 18-year career – Pendlebury has averaged 25.9 disposals over that period – Harvey said the Magpie great's style had been about simplicity.

"As a midfielder he tracks the footy so well and doesn’t make it complicated," Harvey said.

"He's just so good at being where the ball is and that's just tracking the footy.

"Some players can get off track with that and there is a lot in the game tactically, but as a midfielder he's always kept it pretty simple."

Pendlebury's midfield coach now is Scott Selwood, who has a unique perspective on the Norm Smith medallist's ball-winning ability having tagged him as a player before working closely with him as a coach.

Selwood was among the best stoppers in the game during the best years of his 169-game career with West Coast and Geelong, but Pendlebury was always a different challenge.

"When you do run-with roles, you try and manipulate your opponent as much as possible so you're taking away from their game and hoping their impact can be quite minimal," Selwood said.

"But Pendles just had a way of constantly putting you in vulnerable positions where you had to decide if you're going to do the team thing or do what's best for you.

"He'd just keep you thinking right up until the last minute of the game and that's what's made him great.

"He would play every minute out, so you knew when you were playing against Pendles there was going to be a heavy toll on your mental capacity."

Selwood says Pendledbury was ahead of his time with the way he handled taggers, often using the opportunity to create two-versus-one match-ups to benefit a teammate.

Given his team focus and ability to outsmart his opponents, there was therefore rarely a significant team benefit in tagging him.

"We played a final against them in 2011 and I remember walking out onto the 'G and saddling up next to him, and sometimes you see players start to think, 'How am I going to do this?," Selwood said.

"But for Pendles, there was just an acceptance and an ability to get his mind straight onto the job of doing what the team needed from him.

"So he would go outside himself constantly to find ways to help others, then suddenly Dayne Beams is getting off the hook, or Steele Sidebottom.

"So his ability to think strategically about the game and how to manipulate it in a way that is going to challenge the tag but also support his team in the game, that was the challenge."

In his role now as midfield coach, Selwood can see up close the pursuit of excellence and constant chase for one per cent gains that has put Pendlebury in a position to become the most prolific ball-winner in VFL/AFL history.

The premiership Magpie's enduring curiosity at 35 and search for new ways to get better each day have been remarkable to watch.

"Once you get to a certain age of playing, you can be afraid to add anything extra in thinking that it might create a negative impact in some way, so you grow into this routine and only make little adaptations to what you're doing," Selwood said.

"But he's quite keen to explore. He's into different sports, different programs that are out there, and still searching for greatness.

"It doesn't feel like that's going to die for him. If something is getting taken away at his age, then he'll find a way to make another part of his game better."

After joining Collingwood's coaching team at the end of 2019, Selwood had the opportunity to watch Pendlebury and Harvey work together for two seasons. The major similarity with the pair, he said, was their pursuit of being the best they could possibly be for the benefit of the team.

Selwood this week mentioned the looming record to Pendlebury, who acknowledged it before quickly turning the conversation back to what the team focused on this week.

"His motivation is to succeed for others around him so we can have success as a team. That is clearly his highest motivating factor," Selwood said.

"He just has bigger fish to fry when he's in this mode and at this point of the season."