Players can react to the big occasion of a milestone game in different ways, but Pendlebury pulled one from the top draw, finishing not only with 35 disposals but three goals, earning maximum votes from both clubs' coaches.

It's the three goals that  were arguably most significant, though. In his previous 199 matches, the Magpie had kicked that many only four times, most in the course of his midfield role.

But against the Suns, Pendlebury became a de facto forward. He spent nearly twice as much game time up forward than he had in any previous game this season. And the three goals were only a sample of the value he provided.

The Collingwood captain recorded no fewer than 15 score involvements, which made him the No.1 ranked player for the statistic not only in the Pies' win, but across all nine AFL games of the round.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley had flirted with Pendlebury as a forward for several weeks previously, from the time the Magpies smashed Carlton in round five.

And Buckley clearly believes the gambit is working as those game-time forward zone percentages have climbed from single figures to the teens and, against Gold Coast, up above 20 per cent.

Champion Data heat maps show  how markedly the territory Pendlebury covers has changed. In 2014, the  bulk of his possessions came behind centre. Earlier this season, they were being gathered in the centre square and on a wing. But Pendlebury's  map for last Saturday night looks like a mirror image of his chart last season.

"He was outstanding," former Magpie premiership captain Nick Maxwell told the club website this week.

"It gives [Steele] Sidebottom, [Jordan] De Goey, [Jack] Crisp and all these guys more of a run in the middle. And the threat that he gives the opposition when he's up forward is he can do it in the air but also at ground level."

But Pendlebury is far from an isolated case. Increasingly, with midfield groups growing in size, both numerically and literally on an individual level, the big-bodied on-baller becoming a more and more popular prototype, midfielders are being used as bona fide set forwards.

Sydney have had more than a little success using even regular midfield ball magnets like Josh Kennedy and Luke Parker close to goal. Against Geelong a fortnight ago, Parker was able not only to pick up 31 disposals but kick five goals.

Both he and Kennedy are particularly strong overhead for midfield players. And it's a talent the Swans are using with effect.

"We're looking to grow our positional depth," Sydney assistant coach Stuart Dew said last week. We know Luke isn't going to kick five goals every week, but both he and Josh are good in the air for their size."

And while it wasn't from a mark, it was Parker who nailed the match-winning goal for Sydney again last week against Hawthorn.

On grand final day last year, the Swans' forward set-up based around the tall timber of Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett looked very one-dimensional alongside the Hawks' balance of different-sized sharpshooters.

Sydney doesn't have a mid-sized Jack Gunston type, but its rotating on-ballers are currently proving a handy substitute.

There are similar stories happening at Fremantle, where Michael Barlow has upped his forward time and against Geelong in round two equalled a career-high three goals. And especially at Greater Western Sydney, with a huge midfield contingent offering more options for coach Leon Cameron.

Both Adam Treloar and Ryan Griffen have almost doubled their forward game time this season compared to last (Griffen with the Western Bulldogs). And with a goal per game to date, Treloar, as good an on-baller as he's proved, is also equal third in the Giants' goalkicking.

In a game constantly seeking flexibility, for midfielders, even those as established as on-ball stars like Pendlebury, the goalposts are shifting. Or perhaps more accurately, they are shifting closer to the goalposts.