Only 51 of the 1115 men to pull on a Black and White jumper have managed to win an E.W. Copeland Trophy as Collingwood’s fairest and best player in any season since 1927*.

Of those 51 players, only nine have won it three times or more.

But if the opinions of the 2014 playing list are anything to go by, captain Scott Pendlebury is on the cusp of joining that illustrious group.

When asked to nominate the player most likely to be leading the club’s best-and-fairest after 16 rounds in collingwoodfc.com.au’s anonymous poll of the club’s playing list, Pendlebury was the raging favourite.

The new captain is one of only five players to have featured in all 16 games so far this season.

Most games in 2014
16 – Travis Cloke, Jack Frost, Heritier Lumumba, Brent Macaffer, Scott Pendlebury
15 – Dayne Beams, Jarryd Blair, Tom Langdon, Dane Swan, Alan Toovey, Clinton Young
14 – Luke Ball, Jamie Elliott, Tyson Goldsack, Jarrod Witts

He ranks first at the club for disposals (456), kicks (227), handballs (229), contested possessions (208), uncontested possessions (243), free kicks (28) and tackles (93), equal first alongside Dayne Beams for inside 50s (61), second for clearances (90) and third for intercept marks (16).

Of the 15 players to have played 14 games or more, Pendlebury is ranked equal fourth for disposal efficiency, tying with Tyson Goldsack on 75.2 per cent.

What makes this stat particularly noteworthy is that 45.61 per cent of Pendlebury’s 456 disposals have been won in a contest.

With numbers like these, it’s little wonder Pendlebury is now the hot favourite to take home his first Brownlow Medal in the wake of Gary Ablett Junior’s season-ending shoulder surgery.

Beams, like Pendlebury, is also a past winner, and is another player some teammates consider to be in the running to take home the club’s most coveted individual honour.

Free from the quad injury that marred his 2013 campaign, the 24-year-old has put himself firmly into All-Australian contention, producing a disposal average of 27.1 to go with 6.0 clearances and 5.5 tackles per game.

Beams has won 30 disposals or more in seven of his 15 games. He has registered eight or more clearances five times and laid nine tackles against Fremantle and Essendon earlier in the season.



Other players to receive votes from the players were youngsters Jack Frost and Jamie Elliott.

Elliott, who led the club’s goal kicking with 30 after 15 games, has gone goalless just twice this year and has kicked three or more goals in five games.

Frost, meanwhile, has enjoyed a remarkable rise from the rookie list to the last line of defence where he has faced off against some of the game’s biggest names.

He has rarely lowered his colours to his direct opponent and ranks sixth in the competition for spoils (103), while his 10 blocks puts him ahead of all bar four players league wide.

The best of Scott Pendlebury
Round 2 v Sydney
33 disposals (23 kicks, 10 handballs), 9 clearances, 11 inside 50s, 10 tackles, 4 score assists, 4 free kicks, 1 goal

Round 14 v Hawthorn
35 disposals (12 kicks, 23 handballs), 4 clearances, 5 inside 50s, 3 tackles

Round 10 v West Coast
32 disposals (17 kicks, 15 handballs), 9 clearances, 6 inside 50s, 5 tackles, 1 goal

Most Copeland Trophies won
6 – Nathan Buckley (1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003)
5 – Len Thompson (1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1977)
4 – Bob Rose (1949, 1951, 1952, 1953)
3 – Albert Collier (1929, 1934, 1935)
3 – Gavin Brown (1989, 1994, 1997)
3 – Des Fothergill (1937, 1938, 1940)
3 – Phonse Kyne (1946, 1947, 1948)
3 – Dane Swan (2008, 2009, 2010)
3 – Murray Weideman (1957, 1961, 1962)

*No Copeland Trophy was awarded between 1943 and 1945 due to World War II.