Scott Pendlebury (born 7 January 1988) is a professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er playing for the

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). He has served as the Collingwood captain since the 2014 season. In round 18 of the 2020 season, he broke the Collingwood record for most VFL/AFL games played, as well as most games as captain.

Early life

Originally from Sale in the Gippsland Region of Victoria, Pendlebury began his sporting career playing basketball and accepted a scholarship to the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, however, after 3 weeks at the AIS, he decided to quit the Under 18's squad and return to Victoria to pursue professional football with the Gippsland Power in the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

. Pendlebury's vacated place in the AIS squad was taken by

Patty Mills Patrick Sammy Mills (born 11 August 1988) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mills was born and raised in Canberra, and is of Torres Strait Islander and Aborigin ...

, who went on to win an NBA Championship in 2014 with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. Growing up, Pendlebury supported the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

. Pendlebury was selected for the 2005 Under-18 Vic Country team. He played two of the three games and had an average of 17 possessions. He was selected to play for eventual 2005

premiers Gippsland Power. He played 19 games, kicked 11 goals and averaged 22 possessions a game. Collingwood became aware of Pendlebury after Gippsland Power manager Peter Francis recommended both Pendlebury and his older brother Kristopher. Collingwood drafted Scott Pendlebury with pick five in the 2005 AFL Draft, and Collingwood's number two pick overall, whereas Kris did not play in the AFL but did captain the Collingwood side in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

AFL career

Pendlebury began his career wearing number 16 on his guernsey and changed to number 10 at the start of the 2007 season. He is a natural left-footer, rarely wastes a possession, and has excellent vision that has been attributed to his years playing basketball.

2006

Pendlebury's 2006 pre-season was hampered by glandular fever, but he made a successful comeback with Collingwood's VFL affiliate, Williamstown. He made his

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

debut in Round 10 against the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

, and became part of a select group of footballers known for kicking their first goal with their first kick in league football. He played eight more games in the 2006 season.

2007

Pendlebury switched to the number 10 guernsey previously worn by Blake Caracella, and gave the number 16 guernsey to newcomer Nathan Brown. Following his nine games in 2006, Pendlebury broke into the Collingwood midfield on a regular basis, averaging 18 disposals a game before he was nominated for the

NAB Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan ...

in Round 4. He collected a season-high 26 possessions in the 2007 Semi-Final against the West Coast Eagles in Perth, and kicked a crucial goal during extra time. Throughout the 2007 season, he was compared with

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

rookie midfielder

Joel Selwood Joel Anthony Selwood (born 26 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was a quadruple premiership player, a six-time All-Australian, and a three-ti ...

. Both were close favourites for the 2007 NAB Rising Star with Selwood eventually winning by seven votes. Pendlebury also placed second in the 2007

Copeland Trophy The E.W. Copeland Trophy is an Australian rules football award given by the Collingwood Football Club to the player adjudged best and fairest for Collingwood during the year. The Copeland Shield, as it was formerly known, was donated by Ern Cope ...

behind

Travis Cloke Travis Cloke (born 5 March 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and in the Australian Football League (AFL). Cloke was drafted under the father-son rule by Collingwood in ...

2008

Pendlebury was voted into Collingwood's five-man leadership group as deputy vice-captain preceding the 2008 season. Highlights of Pendlebury's season included 33 disposals against

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

on ANZAC Day and placing a close second behind

Paul Medhurst Paul Medhurst (born 11 December 1981) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Fremantle Football Club. In his 2008 season, he was selected in the All-Australian team and h ...

for the Anzac Day medal. On 9 May 2008, Pendlebury was selected in the Victorian Squad for the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match, with teammates

Josh Fraser Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J * "Josh", an early pseudonym of S ...

and

Heath Shaw Heath Shaw (born 27 November 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). Heath grew up in Diamond Creek and played jun ...

. Despite playing only half of the match, he collected 19 disposals with a 79% efficiency rating. Pendlebury was an important factor in Collingwood's 86-point victory over reigning premiers

. Pendlebury played his 50th game on 9 August 2008 against St Kilda in Round 19. He finished third in Collingwood's 2008 Best and Fairest count.

2009

Pendlebury became more prominent in 2009. He collected a career high 39 disposals against

on the Queens Birthday and won the Women's Round medal. He had a career high 22 kicks against the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...

and another career high 20 handballs against the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

. Despite missing a few games due to injuries, he was still shortlisted for selection as an All-Australian. He had an average of 26 disposals a game (13 kicks and 13 handballs)and averaged 2 goals per 5 games. His season ended with a cracked fibula bone injury in the Qualifying final. Pendlebury polled 13 votes in the 2009 Brownlow Medal, the top ranked Collingwood player.

2010

In 2010 Pendlebury won a spot in the

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

and won the ANZAC Medal. He polled 21 votes in the

2010 Brownlow Medal The 2010 Brownlow Medal was the 83rd year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home and away season. Chris Judd of the Carlton Football Club won the medal by polli ...

, to finish in fourth position. He won the 2010 Norm Smith medal when Collingwood won the premiership.

2011

In 2011 Pendlebury won his second ANZAC Day Medal as best-on-ground in Collingwood's 30-point win over . Three weeks later, against , he was controversially denied a goal from a free kick that would have won Collingwood the game. Ultimately, the Magpies lost by three points. He capped off a brilliant year, winning the

for the best and fairest player at Collingwood, and the Bob Rose Trophy for being the best Collingwood player throughout the finals. In the Brownlow he polled 24 votes to finish equal third behind winner

Dane Swan Dane Swan (born 25 February 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

, Sam Mitchell (disqualified) and

Nick Dal Santo Nick Dal Santo (born 22 February 1984) is the senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club in the AFL Women's competition and a retired Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda and North Melbourne in the Australian Football League (AF ...

2012

Pendlebury finished the season with 15 brownlow votes, down on his 24 from the previous year and helped the Magpies to a Preliminary Final, where they eventually lost to the Sydney Swans. He finished second in the

to winner

Dayne Beams Dayne Beams (born 12 February 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He also previously played for, and captained, the Brisbane Lions duri ...

and in front of three-time champion

Dane Swan Dane Swan (born 25 February 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

. He was also included in the All Australian for the 3rd year running alongside teammates Swan and Dayne Beams.

2013

Pendlebury improved on his 2012 season, having arguably his best and most consistent season to date. Already touted as future captain of the

, Pendlebury helped lead the club brilliantly in 2013 and although Collingwood lost the Elimination final loss to Port Adelaide, Pendlebury won his second

beating former champion

Dane Swan Dane Swan (born 25 February 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

. He also had 21 votes in the Brownlow, only losing out to teammate Dane Swan for the highest votes for the Magpies. Pendlebury once again was included in the All Australian Squad being named on the wing. This was his fourth consecutive inclusion in the team.

2014

On 29 January, Pendlebury was appointed as captain replacing Nick Maxwell. Pendlebury has thrived as captain having one of his best seasons. At the end of the season, Pendlebury was selected for the fifth consecutive time as part of the All Australian team and was awarded the

Lou Richards Medal The Lou Richards Medal is an annual Most Valuable Player award for the Australian Football League, based on votes from the '' Sunday Footy Show'' panel each week. History The Lou Richards Medal is named after former Collingwood player, Lou R ...

. He also won his third

, the Magpie Army Player of the Year award and the Gavin Brown Award.

2015

During the 2015

event,

Eddie McGuire Edward Joseph McGuire AM (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter, journalist and Australian Football League commentator. He is also an occasional '' Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosts Channel Nine’s Millionai ...

announced that Pendlebury had re-signed with Collingwood until the end of 2020. Pendlebury said at event ''"The direction the club is taking really excites me. We have a solid group of young players who have got a taste of senior footy and we have the right program and people in place to take this group to the next level. I’m proud to captain this club and want to be part of what the future holds."'' The same night, he won his third consecutive Copeland Trophy and fourth overall.

2016

Pendlebury battled injury early in the season as well as filled in as a half-back instead of his regular role in the midfield, and despite this maintained his consistency. His professionalism and inspiration caused his peers to vote for him as the winner of the Gavin Brown Award for demonstrating the team values throughout the season. He was further rewarded with his fourth consecutive Copeland Trophy and fifth overall.

2017

Pendlebury had a consistent 2017 season until he sustained a broken finger in Round 17 against the Gold Coast Suns. He had successful surgery on the finger, and was hopeful to return the next week, but his return was delayed for a month and it was said to be unlikely that he would play again until Round 22 or 23. However, did not return again for the season. In the 2017 season, he averaged a career high tackles per game (6.4).

Personal life

Pendlebury was born and raised in

Sale, Victoria Sale is a city situated in the Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria and the council seat of the Shire of Wellington. It had an estimated urban population of 15,682 according to the 2021 census. The total pop ...

. He attended Catholic College Sale. He played alongside former Collingwood players Dale Thomas,

Tyson Goldsack Tyson Goldsack (born 22 May 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League. Early life Originally from Pakenham, Victoria, he played with Gippsland ...

and

Brent Macaffer Brent Macaffer (born 29 February 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited in the 2006 AFL draft. Macaffer is one of a ...

at the

Gippsland Power The Gippsland Power is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. Honours *Premierships (1): 2005 *Runners-up (3): 1999, 2010, 2012 *Wooden Spoons (1): 2003 *Morrish Med ...

before all getting drafted to Collingwood. He has two brothers who have both played football in the

(VFL). Older brother Kris has won the Joseph Wren Memorial Trophy and captained the

Collingwood VFL Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...

and younger brother Ryan has played for three teams in the VFL. Scott Pendlebury married his long-term girlfriend, Alex Pendlebury (née Davis), in 2016. The couple's first son was born in 2017, and welcomed a daughter in November 2019.

Statistics

''Updated to the end of the 2022 season''. , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, , , , 16 , 9 , , 4 , , 0 , , 67 , , 51 , , 118 , , 46 , , 25 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 7.4 , , 5.7 , , 13.1 , , 5.1 , , 2.8 , , 0 , - , 2007 , , , , 10 , 23 , , 20 , , 8 , , 238 , , 197 , , 435 , , 124 , , 75 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 10.3 , , 8.6 , , 18.9 , , 5.4 , , 3.3 , , 1 , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , , , 10 , 23 , , 11 , , 10 , , 283 , , 235 , , 518 , , 113 , , 77 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 12.3 , , 10.2 , , 22.5 , , 4.9 , , 3.3 , , 7 , - ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , , , 10 , 21 , , 8 , , 4 , , 271 , , 271 , , 542 , , 105 , , 69 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 12.9 , , 12.9 , , 25.8 , , 5.0 , , 3.3 , , 13 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

^# , , , , 10 , 26 , , 17 , , 13 , , 339 , , 352 , , 691 , , 116 , , 144 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 13.0 , , 13.5 , , 26.6 , , 4.5 , , 5.5 , , 21 , - ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , , , 10 , 25 , , 24 , , 12 , , 385 , , 357 , , 742 , , 106 , , 150 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 15.4 , , 14.3 , , 29.7 , , 4.2 , , 6.0 , , 24 , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , , , 10 , 21 , , 11 , , 8 , , 316 , , 303 , , 619 , , 82 , , 115 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 15.0 , , 14.4 , , 29.5 , , 3.9 , , 5.5 , , 15 , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, , , , 10 , 23 , , 18 , , 9 , , 329 , , 359 , , 688 , , 88 , , 119 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 14.3 , , 15.6 , , 29.9 , , 3.8 , , 5.2 , , 21 , - , 2014 , , , , 10 , 21 , , 13 , , 10 , , 292 , , 304 , , 596 , , 75 , , 116 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 13.9 , , 14.5 , , 28.4 , , 3.6 , , 5.5 , , 16 , - ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , , , 10 , 22 , , 15 , , 8 , , 321 , , 314 , , 635 , , 97 , , 112 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 14.6 , , 14.3 , , 28.9 , , 4.4 , , 5.1 , , 15 , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , , , 10 , 22 , , 11 , , 7 , , 289 , , 341 , , 630 , , 78 , , 123 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 13.1 , , 15.5 , , 28.6 , , 3.5 , , 5.6 , , 17 , - , 2017 , , , , 10 , 16 , , 5 , , 7 , , 217 , , 233 , , 450 , , 58 , , 103 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 13.6 , , 14.6 , , 28.1 , , 3.6 , , 6.4 , , 15 , - , 2018 , , , , 10 , 25 , , 9 , , 5 , , 294 , , 376 , , 670 , , 60 , , 147 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 11.8 , , 15.0 , , 26.8 , , 2.4 , , 5.9 , , 15 , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , , , 10 , 24 , , 12 , , 8 , , 345 , , 310 , , 655 , , 105 , , 112 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 14.4 , , 12.9 , , 27.3 , , 4.4 , , 4.7 , , 14 , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, , , , 10 , 15 , , 1 , , 2 , , 175 , , 179 , , 354 , , 38 , , 45 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 11.7 , , 11.9 , , 23.6 , , 2.5 , , 3.0 , , 13 , - ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, , , , 10 , 18 , , 4 , , 4 , , 197 , , 220 , , 417 , , 67 , , 69 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 10.9 , , 12.2 , , 23.2 , , 3.7 , , 3.8 , , 3 , - ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, , , , 10 , 24 , , 2 , , 1 , , 274 , , 281 , , 555 , , 74 , , 112 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 11.4 , , 11.7 , , 23.1 , , 3.1 , , 4.7 , , 2 , - class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 , Career ! 358 !! 185 !! 116 !! 4632 !! 4683 !! 9315 !! 1432 !! 1713 !! 0.5 !! 0.3 !! 12.9 !! 13.1 !! 26.0 !! 4.0 !! 4.8 !! 215 Notes

Honours and achievements

Team * AFL premiership player ():

McClelland Trophy The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football trophy which has been awarded each year since 1951 by the Australian Football League (known prior to 1990 as the Victorian Football League) to the best-performing club in the home-and-away sea ...

(): 2010, 2011 Individual * Collingwood captain: 2014–present *

Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the Grand Final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990 the competition was known as the Victorian Football ...

: 2010 * Collingwood games record holder * AFLCA champion player of the year: 2013 * 6×

, 2014,

* 5×

: 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 * 2× AFLPA best captain: 2020, 2022 * AFLCA best young player: 2007 * 3× Anzac Medal: 2010, 2011, 2019 *

: 2014 *

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

nominee: 2007

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pendlebury, Scott 1988 births Living people Collingwood Football Club players Collingwood Football Club Premiership players Norm Smith Medal winners All-Australians (AFL) Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Gippsland Power players Sale Football Club players Copeland Trophy winners People from Sale, Victoria Australia international rules football team players One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players