In a cauldron of loud, intimidating opposition supporters, Scott Pendlebury felt the pressure on him.
It wasn’t because of the local fans either. As both teams broke from their huddles before the start of the game, he realised the eyes of the opposition on him.
“I sensed the Adelaide boys were coming for me,” the Collingwood captain told the Jock and Journo podcast.
“When we walked through the middle, Tex (Taylor Walker) was coming the other way... I was walking in a straight line and I didn’t think he was going to veer.
“Tex got into me, and then Sam Jacobs got into me, and then Sloaney gave me a little nudge too.”
iTunes: Tension in Adelaide? Listen to Pendles discuss more on Jock and Journo.
While not uncommon for opposition players to target a star midfielder, Pendlebury believes his role negating Carlton’s Patrick Cripps the week prior may have prompted Adelaide's aggression.
“Obviously they’d been told to get after me and thought that I was going to hunt one of them, but I didn’t. Steele (Sidebottom) did.”
While Pendlebury recorded an impressive 30 disposals in the win over the Crows, it was 2017 Copeland Trophy winner Sidebottom who truly dominated under the Adelaide Oval lights.
Running alongside Rory Sloane, he recorded a career-high 43 touches, easily surpassing a previous best of 38 touches against Geelong in 2012.
According to Pendlebury, it was this sort of individual performance which helped deliver what was arguably Collingwood’s best win of the season.
“I thought our boys played really well,” the captain said.
“We saw some pretty special acts.”
Two more of these “special acts” came from star ruckman Brodie Grundy and emerging young gun Jaidyn Stephenson.
You can hear more about the game, plus Stephenson’s bizarre eating habits on the latest episode of Jock and Journo.
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Topics include:
- What clicked in Adelaide (0:30)
- Brodie Grundy’s HUGE game (3:20)
- Jaidyn Stephenson’s big heart (6:30)
- Eating habits of a Rising Star (8:45)
- An update on Kayle Kirby (10:40)
- A modern day Rhyce Shaw (12:30)
- What defines a rookie (18:30)
- Reviewing Hawthorn’s trade moves (22:00)
- The spirit of the ANZACs (28:20)
Pendles and Crows stars butt heads
Opposition captains Scott Pendlebury and Taylor Walker both refused to stand down as they approached one another before Collingwood's Friday night clash with the Crows.