Scott Pendlebury: "If a ball bounced, Fantasia was about to grab it and Bruzzie was about to tackle him, there's probably not a bloke he wants to tackle more in the league."
The rivalry between Brayden Maynard and Essendon's Orazio Fantasia might not be one that's all too well known, but don't for a second think it's not real.
Collingwood captain Pendlebury puts it down to two players with serious cases of white-line fever.
"Once he (Maynard) sees that white line he flicks a switch," Pendlebury said on Collingwood Media podcast 'Jock and Journo'.
"Against Essendon, you could hear him and Fantasia just going at each other all game.
"It just didn’t stop.
"These two are both 21 years old and this is going to happen twice a year, for ten years."
iTunes: Pendles discusses Brayden Maynard and Heath Shaw's on-field aggression on Jock and Journo.
While we eagerly await the next instalment of the Maynard-Fantasia clash, there’s other players on different AFL teams to keep an eye out for.
Melbourne are staking a claim to be the new ‘unsociable Hawks’, and the GWS Giants have been taught from day one to never take a back step.
Pendlebury believes every team features different types of aggressive players. But it’s not the be-all and end-all.
“I don’t subscribe to the theory that you have to be a certain mix to be a good side,” he said.
“There’s hot-heads, there’s white-line fever, there’s guys you know there’s not even a point trying to go to them because it won’t have an impact.
“And then there’s certain guys who are complete kamikaze hard nuts.”
Collingwood has a bunch of these. And after the departure of "hilarious" hot-head Heath Shaw, some of the new breed are guys you wouldn’t expect.
Who? Scroll to the 18-minute mark of the latest edition of ‘Jock and Journo’ to hear directly from the captain.
Soundcloud: Subscribe to listen to more Jock and Journo with Scott Pendlebury and Jay Clark.
Other topics on the podcast include:
- A second bout of surgery (1:00),
- ‘The bone was shattered’ (4:00),
- Having no control (5:30),
- Chess in the coaches box (7:15),
- Alex Fasolo’s big moment (12:10),
- Is white-line fever a myth? (18:30),
- Brayden Maynard’s aggression (20:30),
- Calming down Heath Shaw (24:00),
- Concerns over GWS (26:00),
- The hardest month of the season (30:15),
- Tom Phillips’ Rising Star chances (32:50),
- Kyrie Irving (35:10),
- Pendles’ breakfast with a UFC star (38:00) and more.
Who are our 'kamikaze' hot-heads?
Every team has a mix of hot-heads, relaxed faces and those who have a serious case of white-line fever. Scott Pendlebury discusses Collingwood's mix on the most recent 'Jock and Journo' podcast.
