“It’s remarkable.”
That’s the turn of phrase Collingwood Senior Coach Craig McRae uses to describe Scott Pendlebury and the way that his on-field leadership essentially makes him another Coach in McRae’s posse.
While seated on the MCG interchange bench, mere metres away from where Pendlebury’s incredible football nous, innate ability to command action from his teammates, and unique gift to slow down time around him helped the Magpies grapple a record equalling 16th Premiership last September, McRae reflects on the incredible impact Pendlebury has had on Collingwood - not just on September 30, 2023 - but on the Club and wider competition across 399 games and 19 years.
WATCH: Scott Pendlebury's three Senior Coaches reflect on his 19-season career.
“I feel like I’m right there now,” said McRae, seated on the MCG interchange in his iconic Collingwood puffer jacket.
“I’m in a position not too far from where we were looking out at each other (during the Grand Final) calling out phases of the game. Watching him just manipulate that throughout the whole team.
“To have somebody who is essentially an extension of the Coaches and the game plan, it’s remarkable and he’s been doing it a long time now.
“This game is managed by moments, and Grand Final day and all the Finals are a reflection of that. In the moments where we needed someone to lead, he just sits at the front and orchestrates most things.
“Somewhat of a quarterback is probably a good analogy, maybe even a conductor. He’s incredibly gifted and incredibly selfless in that sense.”
McRae first worked with Pendlebury in 2011 when Scott was in his sixth season of AFL, and Craig was in his fifth year as a coach and first at Collingwood as Head of Development, a role he held until 2016.
“When I started at the Club in 2011, I was Head of Development and he was just starting his journey really,” McRae said.
“I was watching him at the start of that journey and then came back six years later (as Senior Coach) and saw the transition of a high performing, professional into a really strong, family man and great leader.”
McRae’s memories of Pendlebury from his first stint at the Club are of characteristics that hold true to this day.
“He was the ultimate professional. The training standards were so professional. Players weren’t required back to pre-season training until certain dates and he was always one of the first in the door,” said McRae.
“He was so fit, and so diligent and an incredible role model for others.”
When McRae returned to the Club in 2022, the pair’s relationship developed quickly thanks to the now Senior Coach’s previous tenure.
“I felt there was instant connection and instant respect. I felt there was a real softening and easy start thanks to my previous time at the Club,” said McRae.
“It always seemed like we were on the same page and it didn’t take long to get on the same page if we weren’t.
“I respect him enormously and if he’s got an opinion, I’ll listen to it.”
WATCH: The Pendlebury family has a picnic on the MCG and reflect on his 399 games so far.
Pendlebury reflected on how the return of the man known as ‘Fly’ has extended his career into an 17th, 18th and 19th season at the highest level.
“I remember the first time I met with him and just sitting down and he just says ‘I want to extend your career as long as I can,” Pendlebury said in Collingwood’s Take the Steps documentary.
“As a 33-year-old that’s really refreshing to hear that he sees more time than just ‘hey we’re going to get rid of you because you’re 33’.”
After McRae’s first season at the helm Pendlebury stepped down as the Club’s 47th V/AFL Captain.
“At the first moment (at the start of 2022), I said ‘what are you thinking about this Captaincy?’ and he felt like he had more to give. It was always his job until he didn’t want to do it,” McRae said.
“We went through that and openly discussed it and said ‘you just let me know, if you want to do it, it’s yours’, and he came back and said ‘yep I’m in’ and I said ‘no worries, it’s yours, let’s go’.
“It was the same thing at the end of 2022, ‘mate you know it’s yours until you don’t want to do it anymore’ and he just said ‘I feel like it’s the right time’.
“So respectfully, you just support the decision and work towards a solution or a changing of the guard.”
It was a decision that has reaped reward for Pendlebury, his successor, and Collingwood as a whole.
“We’ve won on two fronts,” said McRae, as he reflects on the decision made almost two years ago.
“One, we’ve got Darcy and other leaders who have stepped up and made a significant contribution in a different way, and we’ve been led differently.
“Two, we’ve lost nothing in Pendles’ leadership. If anything, it’s freed him up to be even more incredible on-field and other parts, so it’s been a great transition.”
The influence Scott Pendlebury has on others is not lost on McRae.
“I think Nick (Daicos) in particular is someone that’s been a little disciple of Pendles. He walks around just looking at Pendles and they sit together in most meetings,” McRae said.
“He’s a great role model for someone like Nick. The footprint that Pendles is going to leave is going to be a big one. It’s nice for Nick to walk in the shadows of that for a few years at least.”
As Pendlebury began 2023, his first season without the ‘C’ next to his name since 2013, he was sitting on 358 career games, one more than the great Gary Ablett Junior and equal 13th of all time.
He required 42 games more to reach the revered 400-club, and 41 games later he will do so this Saturday night.
“Not many have done it. It’s an unbelievably significant milestone, for the game and for him and for our Club,” said McRae.
“To perform at that level consistently, it’s inspiring for many.”
“It’s a testament to longevity, and it’s got so many different layers to it. There’s a reason not many do it (reach 400 games), because it’s very hard to do.
WATCH: Time and Space - the Scott Pendlebury story.
“I don’t know if there’s going to be another hundred Scott Pendleburys, the game suggests there’s very few that get to do this. It takes a uniqueness, and we’re extremely proud of him.
“To perform at such a high level (for so long), the disposal record (most of all time) is an indication of consistency of performance.
“He’s had this ability to slow time down on the field. The game itself is hectic and chaotic and fast. He has this ability to be still and as the game’s got faster and faster, he’s had the ability to keep the game where he needs to keep it.
“It just stands still when he has the ball.”
For McRae, a self-confessed ‘lover’, Saturday’s celebration of Scott Pendlebury is something he has a head start on, with the Magpies’ boss regularly reflecting internally and externally just how lucky Collingwood is to have Pendlebury in their ranks.
“I don’t want to wait until we’re older and the time’s passed. It’s right in front of us. We too often celebrate the reunion or the ‘ten years on’ or ‘remember those times’, well what about those times, now?,” said McRae.
“Why wouldn’t we celebrate him now? This is a time to cherish, so let’s step into that.”
To use a trademark phrase right out of McRae’s coaching vernacular, the football world will tonight indeed ‘step in’ and celebrate Scott Pendlebury, a boy from Sale reaching yet another unfathomable feat that might just be his most incredible yet, sitting atop a very, very lengthy list.
