It was some 200th game: 35 possessions, three goals, four direct assists. And he wasn't even playing in the midfield for most of the match. But as Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said after the match, Scott Pendlebury is going to do damage wherever he goes.
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"If he gets sat on, we can use him in different places to our advantage," said Buckley. That was an understatement on the day, after Collingwood had easily accounted for the Gold Coast Suns, but Buckley made clear that he was intent on bringing through his younger players as he continues to regenerate his team.
He cited Tim Broomhead, who started the game as the substitute and finished it with "a significant 15-20 minutes in the centre", as Pendlebury was shifted to a wing, and Jamie Elliott, who kicked five goals in the second half but also rotated through the middle, along with first-year player Jordan de Goey and Jarryd Blair.
Still, Pendlebury was the model for all of them, a point Buckley said he made clear before the game. "Nathan Brown played his 100th last week, but his travails have been really clear; the injuries that he's had to work through and the road he's had to travel, but it looks like everything's been plain sailing for Pendles. He's robust, he backs up every week.
"But I think what that hides is the fact that he's been challenged. He's probably felt vulnerable; he's had to reinvent himself; he's had to face self-doubts. He's had to push the little man off his shoulder that's saying, well, maybe not today; maybe I don't have to do those little extras – maybe if I give this one percenter a miss; the ice baths or the diet or the sleep.
"We all have them, but he's pushed through those. It looks like it comes naturally, but it doesn't happen that way, and it's good to be able to acknowledge that on a milestone like this."
Buckley was happy with his side's ability to stop the Suns' run in the second quarter, with the home side kicking four unbroken goals to drag themselves back into the contest.
"We've probably been giving up runs of six, seven goals so to keep it to four, even though we'd like to be able to chop that to one or two, was encouraging," he said.
"On field the leaders took control of it after the third and the fourth, and we were able to stabilise that … The last five or six minutes of the second quarter was an improvement area that we were looking for, it showed maturity within the group, and for us to be able to control the game, kick the last couple of goals going into half-time was an important part of the result."
Collingwood had also been boosted by the return of Steele Sidebottom, who collected 32 possessions without always using them with his usual effectiveness.
"You can't replace players of Steele's quality. He really came on late in the week; we hadn't planned on [playing] him early in the week but he came good and he'll be better for the run. It's going to take him a little bit of time to get full confidence in that hand, but I think he laid five tackles in that first half … He's important to our mix."
