In the immediate aftermath of last year’s grand final, Scott Pendlebury, who can hear a game’s heartbeat and whose final term had helped secure the premiership, was calmly computing the past few hours. For most sportspeople, over analysing and overthinking is an impediment. But he was running through the micro and macro moments, the little tactical wins, the patterns of the day. He remembered everything. He had to remind himself that it was OK to celebrate.
Pendlebury, who plays his 400th game on Saturday night, has legitimate claims to be the greatest-ever Collingwood player. Few have been better suited to the long grind of a footy season. Few have been better placed temperamentally to handle the ups and downs of a game, a season, a coaching tenure, an industry quick to judge and write off. He’s stood above all that. In good times and bad, in glory years and in lean times, his temperament and his output have never deviated.
