Scott Pendlebury will play his 433rd AFL match on Saturday against West Coast at the MCG, breaking Brent Harvey’s games record. Former Essendon champion Dustin Fletcher and Kevin Bartlett have urged him to consider playing next year, while Pendlebury says any
When Scott Pendlebury walks out at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, the focus won’t just be on the number on the scoreboard. It will be on the moment itself: the 38-year-old Collingwood star set to play his 433rd AFL game, breaking Brent Harvey’s long-standing record.
Pendlebury’s milestone comes after weeks of talk about whether he should keep going next season. Former Essendon champion Dustin Fletcher has been direct, urging Pendlebury to play on and potentially compete at the highest level as a 40-year-old.
“I think he should (play on). I haven’t seen much footy but obviously seeing him on Anzac Day against the Bombers he’s obviously still going well and I don’t know whether he plays 12 or 15 games, 16 games. He is a fair asset to have,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher said Pendlebury can make his own choice, adding: “He can do what he wants in my book.. He is a good player, still playing well.. I suppose the speed (is a question) but he has got the smartness with the footy so for me a 14-game at worse. maybe 16 games Scott Pendlebury…he is a good player.. I’m not sure, it takes him to 450 does it?. (It would assuming he plays more games this year).. Maybe the year after.”
He praised the significance of the record: “We would take him at the Bombers any day of the week. He is a great player, and it’s great to see him break the record.”
Kevin Bartlett. a former games record holder who was the first player to reach 400 games. also urged Pendlebury to consider next year.. “He plays well in big games and that’s always a sign of a great, great player,” Bartlett said.. “I hope he does play on next year because it’s great to see the great players play on for as long as they can.”
Pendlebury, who said at a press conference on the MCG with all members of the 400 Club that he would decide later in the year, has yet to have meaningful conversations with the club about next season.
“I am not sure, I think if my form is good enough and my body holds up, that is a discussion I will have later in the season, but I feel good, and I am almost over some niggles. So I feel good,” Pendlebury said.
He also framed this year’s run at the record as something he only pursued if he believed he could contribute. “I don’t think I would have gone on this year at all if I didn’t think I could contribute,” he said.
For Pendlebury, there is a different challenge after the milestone is celebrated.. “The easy part is coming out and playing because who wouldn’t love that?. But the hard part is in October when footy is still six months away.. Can you still get up and do the work?. I still love doing that sort of stuff.. I love the game. I really do I love the coaching side of it so we will see where that lands in the future.”
His comments came with a clear boundary between the milestone and the outside noise. He has dismissed criticism of how he has been managed this year, including missing games such as against Sydney last Friday night in order for his record-breaking match to be played at the MCG.
“We planned out from the start of the year a schedule to manage me for the whole season. We have taken the long view of getting through the season. I certainly didn’t plan to have an Achilles injury in round 3 or 4 and then have to manage that all the way up until even now,” he said.
Pendlebury said he had seen claims that he was moving well prior to the Hawthorn game and pointed to GPS data. “I saw somewhere that I was moving well before the Hawthorn game if you had have seen my GPS [data] and top speed you probably would have run faster than me that day (doubtful).”
Saturday’s match is also shaped by the league’s approval of commemorations and by a separate controversy brewing around milestone payments outside the salary cap.
The AFL has approved several initiatives to commemorate Pendlebury’s milestone. including allowing him to wear several special jumpers during the game with a gold No.10 on the back.. My Room. a children’s cancer charity. will receive a donation from Pendlebury. who has long been one of its ambassadors. and it is expected to be a six-figure sum as a result of the commercial windfall arising from the match.
But opposition clubs believe the AFL’s decision to allow payments to Pendlebury to sit outside the salary cap will prompt them to seek exemptions for their own milestone games.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said he had no issue with the AFL’s call as long as it applied to all players in similar situations, and the way players are allowed to maximise their commercial appeal is set to become a major discussion point during next year’s collective bargaining agreement.
For Pendlebury, the preparation side remains the priority. “I’ll stay out of that [debate] and just do what I do. I know what I am doing is right,” he said.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae said on Friday night after the Magpies’ six-point loss to ladder leaders Sydney that it made sense Pendlebury pass the milestone at the MCG, where a function is planned for those who have supported the Magpie throughout his career.
Most of Collingwood’s 2010 premiership group is expected to be on hand. along with other former teammates. coaches. family and friends who have contributed to Pendlebury’s career.. Pendlebury has been accessible in the build-up and will hold a media conference on Monday afternoon as the celebration begins.
The 400 Club around him includes Bartlett, Fletcher, Michael Tuck, Brent Harvey, Shaun Burgoyne and Pendlebury. Between them, they have played precisely 2500 games, with this week bringing the total to 2501.
Pendlebury’s record has been built across multiple stages of Collingwood success. He played in Collingwood’s premierships of 2010 and 2023, captained the club from 2014-22, and was the only teammate to play in both premierships alongside Pendlebury in that 2010-2023 span.
His personal achievements include holding the AFL disposals record. winning a Norm Smith Medal in the 2010 grand final rematch. earning six All-Australian selections and winning five Copeland Trophies as Collingwood’s best and fairest player.. He has also finished in the top-three of that count 14 times.
Saturday’s landmark will also be a rare home-ground milestone. It will make Pendlebury the second player to break the league’s games record at the MCG, joining Michael Tuck, who broke the games record at the venue in 1990.
No player has ever established a new games record outside Victoria.. Pendlebury will be the ninth player to pass the mark at their home ground.. The only exceptions to a home-ground match are Jock McHale at Geelong in 1914. John Nicholls at Windy Hill in 1974. Kevin Bartlett in a final at Waverley in 1980. and Tuck at the MCG—indicating that record breaks overwhelmingly happen in familiar territory.
Pendlebury becomes the third Magpie alongside McHale and Gordon Coventry to set a new games record for the VFL/AFL.
There has also been a game-to-game reality to his season. Collingwood have won four of the seven matches Pendlebury has played in 2026. He has been involved in losses to Adelaide, Fremantle and Geelong, and was removed from the match against the Giants early due to a minor Achilles tendon concern.
He has battled minor niggles in his legs all year and played no part in last year’s preliminary final after injuring his calf soon after the opening bounce.
McRae said on Friday night that Pendlebury’s body isn’t as durable as people might assume. “His body isn’t as bulletproof as you think; with five- and six-day breaks, the data shows he is just getting to the line. We’re looking after him, and we’ll celebrate him appropriately,” McRae said.
Outside the football, the match is expected to draw a full house. The non-MCC ticket allocation has exhausted, with nearly 90,000 people forecast to attend. The only way to buy a ticket now is to purchase a $44 “Pendleship”—a form of discounted club membership.
Pendlebury has talked about how he wants to mark the day. describing it as a moment to look around at the stands and find his family.. “I appreciate the game for what it is I always take moment to look around at the stands find my family… I still feel like that myself I feel like I am achieving my dream. ” he said.
He said he didn’t want to be a player whose performance depended on whether the team was performing well.. “I didn’t want to be a guy that only played well when the side played well and performed poorly when the side performed poorly.. So I wanted to be really consistent and level no matter what the game threw up.”
Pendlebury said part of that consistency was driven by fear of letting down Mick Malthouse, describing how Malthouse “scared him through his whole career.”
He also thanked Eddie McGuire for what he built at Collingwood.. “I got drafted by the biggest club and best club in the land because of what he (Eddie built).. I have always been appreciative of the fact I was drafted into this club.. I am only passing through – I have probably overstayed my welcome a bit – but I have had the opportunity to play in front of so many big crowds and big games and that really fast tracks you.”
In the 400 Club spirit, the legends around Pendlebury were quick with humour. Bartlett joked: “A million dollars a year? I think I would have played a thousand games.” Michael Tuck quipped that what kept him going for more than 400 games were “a couple of travellers going home.”
Brent Harvey teased Pendlebury for making it all about him in “Pendles Week”, saying: “He has dragged it out. There’s a bit of ‘look at me’,” and adding: “I didn’t think anyone would break my record and I certainly don’t think anyone will break his … he is pretty sexy to watch.”
As for what comes next, Pendlebury says there is still life in the club and that he expects Collingwood to contend. He said he was confident the Magpies could take it up to the league’s best teams and pointed to results against Fremantle, Hawthorn, Sydney and Geelong.
“I am really confident we can contend, we have taken it up to a lot of the best sides.. I think Fremantle we lost by four points. Hawthorn a draw. Sydney a goal. Geelong were the side this year that were clearly the benchmark. playing them it was a bit of a surprised with how advanced they were and how slick and quick they were.. And we saw it again on the weekend,” he said.
Before Saturday’s match, Pendlebury has stayed focused on the football. He said he has made a conscious effort to reach out to those who helped shape his career, including through private text messages to people who “played a big role [in my career].”
In the end, Saturday is about more than a record number.. It’s a day shaped by preparation. careful management through niggles. approved tributes from the AFL. and a wider debate about how milestone moments are handled in the modern game—while Pendlebury himself keeps bringing the conversation back to contribution. not celebration.
AFL Scott Pendlebury Collingwood West Coast 433rd game Brent Harvey record Dustin Fletcher Kevin Bartlett 400 Club MCG