Scott Pendlebury has seen a fair number of opposition footballers come and go in his 12-year, 241-game career at Collingwood.

As one of the game’s most dangerous midfielders, the five-time Copeland Trophy winner has stood at close quarters with some of the best in the business.

So it must have been a difficult task for Pendlebury to name his top five most admired opponents during his 2006 debut.

The topic was raised on Collingwood Media podcast ‘Jock and Journo’ as co-host Jay Clark quizzed the Magpies’ captain on a tweet he posted last weekend praising the individual performance of Geelong captain Joel Selwood in the Cats’ game against St Kilda.  

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“This is since I’ve been playing, players I’ve loved playing against,” Pendlebury qualified before giving his top five opponents since 2005.

“Clearly these are going to be guys older than me… When you’re 18, you don’t respect anyone your own age because you always think you’re the best.”

Pendlebury’s list is below, while you listen to the full conversation by skipping to the 15-minute-mark on the latest edition of ‘Jock and Journo’.



1. Lenny Hayes
“Lenny Hayes was my favourite. Every time we played St Kilda, I used to beg to play on him. I just loved the way he played footy. I thought he was a great offensive, but he was also very accountable running the other way. Everything you did, you had to work for against him."

2. Simon Black
“He was just a guy, similar to my athletic ability where you’re not relying on breakaway speed, or physically dominating an opponent. I just thought he was super smart, a good runner, clean, (and) every time he got it he did something with it. I used to watch him all the time in my first few years. Whenever Brisbane played in Melbourne I used to go and watch him. I learnt so much off him, and then when I got the chance in the midfield, I’d always ask to play on him.



Scott Pendlebury keeps Brisbane Brownlow Medallist Simon Black in close check during a clash in 2009. Picture: AFL Photos.

3. Joel Corey
“I think he was the guy… that didn’t get much credit at all. I thought he was their best two-way player in their powerhouse team. I played on him a lot of times when we played Geelong and he was a physically opposing guy. He was six-foot-three and could run like the wind. He used the footy well, he was hard, and he was tough. I used to love any chance I could get to play on him. I respected the way he played footy. All the accolades went to his counterparts in there. But I thought he was one of the main drivers.

LISTEN: Tune in to the latest episode of Jock and Journo on Soundcloud.

4. Gary Ablett Jnr
“I’ve never really played on Gaz. I’ve never really wanted to play on Gaz. But with Gaz, some games that I’ve played and he’s turned in a blinder and I’ve just thought ‘is this guy taking the mickey out of the game of footy. The ball actually talks to him. I reckon he’s got it on the string and I’ve been on the end of some of his finest games where he’s absolutely destroyed Collingwood. They really stick out in your mind.”

5. Shaun Burgoyne
“One day against Port Adelaide we tagged him, and he had 18 clearances. Games like that stand out. He was so quick. He’s such a good clearance player. He’s impossible to tackle. He’s strong, he’s still quick now and he and Brendon Lade at Port Adelaide were unbelievable. He was a guy that I would ask to play on, but the coaches would say ‘nah you can’t, he will destroy you’.

Pendles and Jay want to know your ‘top five since ’05’. Use #JockandJourno on social media to submit your thoughts!