Pendles, the 10,000 man. Greatest Pie ever, now ??

[BazBoy]

Watched all our champions from 1950 till present day —boy what a lot of great players
Enjoyed so many
But for sheer consistency and effectiveness to team none better than Pendles

[Pies4shaw]

30 games against Carlton. 22 wins.

[Piesnchess]

Pendles is simply the best, finest Magpie Ive seen, did his job again, v Carlton and then some.

[lazzadesilva]

[Piesnchess]

^ Lazza, yes, for the young ones on here, John Greening was every bit as good as Nick Daicos, cut down at age 23 by a thug from the Saints. He could have won 3 Brownlow medals, he was that good.

[lazzadesilva]

^^^^

Exactly Piesnchess. When you are talking about the best ever, the posters (not BazBoy whose opinion I respect) need to know the history of all the many fabulous players we have seen over the years. That is not to take anything away from Pendles or that this title is forever. I have this gut feeling that Naicos will be right up there in a few years.

[Piesnchess]

I SEE THAT FLOG DAMIEN BARRET, has floated the ludirous idea of Pendles, next season, if he wants to, to go to Nth Melbourne, on a one yr deal, to inspire their kids, settle them down, so they can look up too him, and be inspired ??? bloody hell, why the fook would he like to finish up at a basket case putrid club like Norf, who are in the shit cos of their own doing, playing before 4000 fans, the crowd last week, as opposed to 90 000 regular
, at a skint club, with fuckall future, why sullly his glorious record there ?????? Gt real, Barrett.

[Bruce Gonsalves]

Has to be considered the greatest player of all time. You have to realise, every possession Pendles makes is breaking the all-time record. He should have a standing ovation after every possession because of this.

[Pies4shaw]

^ If he played for any other club, there'd be no question. He suffers the 60% Collingwood markdown, of course.

There haven't been too many over the journey that have dominated the last quarter of a close Grand Final after the age of 35 the way he did last year.

It's a shame the Club didn't have a vanity project to see how many flags we could win for Scott, instead of trying to see if we could win one for Bucks while he coached. Pendles' career has been a 6-flag career, ruined in the middle decade by a management disaster.

[Arch@M32]

Soon to be the first to have played in front of 20 million attendees too.

He had played in front of 19,788,477 attendees at an average of 55,430 per game before the Carlton game.

Dustbin Fletcher was next with 19,298,044 @ 48,245.
Steele is third with 15,652,114 @ 54,920.

(From AFL tables data)

[Cam]

I'm barely shadeworthy compared to some of the old oak trees on here but since the mid 70s here are some biased player comparisons with Pendles [not an exhaustive list of champions.]
- Peter Moore had it all but left us, couldn't always be depended on.
- Billy Picken could take a hanger and negate people but couldn't always kick well.
- Peter Daicos had ultimate ball skills but often got tagged out of big games by guys who could hold and punch you all day back then. Plus his leg injuries stopped him being a Nick or Josh. However, not many have a better highlight reel.
- Gavin Brown was skilled, stupidly courageous, could play every position except ruck. Tenacious and exciting to watch.
- Darren Millane had it all but left us too early.
- Tony Shaw couldn't kick over a jam tin but was guts personified and reliable with a job to do.
- Paul Williams was explosively good but left us because of...
- Nathan Buckley had it all, gave it all, best kick over 40 I've seen [best under 40 being Nick]. However, he could have 40 touches and we could be pantsed. Not the greatest decision maker but an absolute bull and alpha that dragged some ordinary Pies teams to great heights. Hard to beat. Iconic. However a polarising figure off and on the ground.
- Dane Swan was a gutrunning, explosive Amarok of a man who could have 40 touches, kick 4 goals, slaughter it for 10 clangers but also clean up after those clangers through pure desire and want for the footy. If Bucks had had 5 more years of Swanny he would have tasted more success.
- Steel Sidebottom has been a gutrunning two sided freak who has the fastest accurate ball to boot in the league. A gun and game winner who has kicked the crucial game breaking goal many times.

Then there's Scott Pendlebury. The most elite disposer of the football in traffic that I've seen. Literally has been able to timetravel onfield but more importantly, always has made others better. Creates chances out of nothing, has made a career out of kicking and handballing with precision. Pendles' career is not really about goals [although he's kicked some very important ones] certainly not about marks... its been about communication and running to be in the right place at the right time regardless of speed. He shows leadership through example and typifies the best of what a 21st Century footballer can be. He lifts others up at the time of error and epitomises positivity. Tackles. Blocks. Harrasses. Out strategises. No one in Collingwood's history that I have seen has owned moments better than him. Whether it's a split second to stop and turn or a handball into space or a tap forward, he is the bar that all should be marked against as the role model of role models.

[stui magpie]

^
That's a pretty good summary and a good epitaph for Pendles.

"Not only was he a great player himself, but he made those around him better"

Too many times when judging a player, it's about them as an individual, not about the effect they hd on the team.

[Pies2016]

^^^
Brilliant summary Cam !
Great call to say he made others around him better.
Im also a big fan of durable footballers, particularly where salary caps are involved. Not sure but I wouldn’t have thought he’s missed more than a seasons worth in total over his 18 years to date. Further testament to how he prepares himself every week.

[RudeBoy]

An excellent analysis and summary Cam.

Being older than you, I'd just add a few more to your list.

John Greening, on his day, remains the best player I've ever seen, but as we know his career was brutally cut short at the age of 22, so we never got the chance to see him fully flourish. To understand just how good he was, imagine the skill and movement of Nick Daicos combined with the arial ability of Elliott. Believe me, he was that good.

Carman was a freakish talent, but, somewhat like Bucks, he could be a divisive character. He was however, ahead of his time, in terms of professionalism.
Frustrated at the amateurish fitness program at our club, Carman often trained on his own away from the club, which did not please Hafey or some of his teammates. He also was restricted by back injuries in his latter years. Ultimately, however, it was his white line fever which ended his time with us, and no doubt cost us Flags in 1977, 1979 and 1980.

Len Thompson was the best tap ruckman I've ever seen.

Overall, however, I'd have to rate Pendles as the greatest player I've seen. As you mention Cam, it's not just the brilliance and consistency of his own performance, but his leadership on the ground, which lifts and directs his teammates. Who knows, perhaps in 15 yrs time there'll be a thread on Nicks asking who was better, Pendles or Nick Daicos?

[Presti35]

Bucks and Pendles are 1 & 2. Nick may challenge them as the years go on.
Just ask Dad to tell me his top 5: