Pendles 'captained' our 2023 Premiership.

[RudeBoy]

Without in any way wanting to disrespect the job done by Darcy Moore in captaining our 2023 season, if you read today's article in The Age, it should be a reminder to some, that in the Grand final, regardless of titles, it was Pendles who was our general and our orchestrator on the day, ensuring us our glorious victory. The records won't show it, but to my mind, Pendles 'captained' us that day, and it was his on-field leadership which secured us victory.

[stui magpie]

This would be the article that (I assume) Rudie is referring to.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/the ... 5f4yv.html

Jake Nial sat down with Pendles to watch the 2023 GF and have him comment on it. Director, Captain, I'd call him a playing coach.

This bit struck me.

Pendlebury felt De Goey was among the Magpies’ best “by a mile”, despite a modest tally of 18 disposals for the game.

“It was going to be a tricky day for Jordy. [Josh] Dunkley was clearly going to go to him, and he hasn’t really been tagged Jordy, too heavily.”

De Goey was “a bang for buck player.” who had applied pressure and “fight around the contest” for teammates. Too many AFL footballers “worry about their numbers,” Pendlebury said.

“Jordy worries about winning.”

And another bit about Jordy, in reference to the last quarter.

Pendlebury, Daicos and De Goey are in for the most critical centre bounces. Pendlebury was swapping with Mitchell. “Our break glass [at centre bounces] is just hit it to Jordy.”

Pendles is basically an on field coach during the game, with licence to decide on who's in the centre at bounces. Very good article, read it if you can. If it's paywalled, I'll post it.

[duke750]

From what I have seen over the last couple of months following the GF I am in no doubt that Pendles should be a Collingwood coach some time after retirement. His situation is so different to Bucks. Pendles has better person skills than Bucks, and he appears to have better game awareness. I would hate to see Pendles end up at another club.

The difference now is that Mick was heading towards the end of his career when Bucks retired. Hopefully Pendles will retire a 3 times premiership player at the early phases of Fly’s coaching career.

By all means, encourage Pendles to dip his toes in the media, or to have time away from footy. We must ensure that this football brain stays in the club.

[Deja Vu]

Paywalled

[stui magpie]

[think positive]

Every game I saw Pendles and Darcy talking during and after, clearly the master and his apprentice.

Maybe Darcy taking the pressure cooker all season meant Pendles could do what he does better than most when it really counted.

But the thread title to me is really disrespectful.

[pietillidie]

I'd agree with Stui; he's more like a playing coach.

You've got to hand it to Fly who perfectly melded the old with new, getting the best out of Pendles, Sidey, Tommy Mitchell and Howey. Instead of seeing what they couldn't do at their age, he optimised what they can do, which includes many things they've always been great at.

Moorey taking the captaincy, Jordy taking the hits, Nicky boy distributing, and Coxy levelling up the ruck contests again allowed Pendles' body and mind time to freshen up and reinvent. He was actually more physically muscular than ever before in the finals, which is no doubt due to worrying less about run/carry/distribute (now the job of Nicky Boy and others), and more about controlling flow out congestion and game rhythm, whether using strength, smarts or skills. That new physicality was even more important given the loss of Adams.

The whole culture is about helping players maximise their best attributes, reflected in the rise and rise of Jordy, who has matured into an explosive beast, a key element we've lacked since Swanny.

[think better]

Thanks for posting the article Stui - Pendles last quarter will be talked about for a very long time.
The Director role and his own contributions were super human

[Quincy]

Pendles probably still our real captain but he himself said earlier in the year that Darcy doing a lot of the off-field work and mentoring allowed him to better prepare for the playing side of things. Also Pendles playing in the midfield is more in a position to act as the general.

[duggieboy]

This is a great read, thanks Stui.

I really believed GWS were our biggest threat & that if we could get over that one, our chances were greatly increased.

TBH I didn't think Bris would be able to replicate their home form on the G.
Well, they pretty much did, or at the least, maximized their chances.

The insight into strategy & the tactical nous of Pendles provides a superb insight into the workings of Sweet 16. What a weapon to have

[Quincy]

Too right Duggieboy and to think that Pendles is in our best few players still. There will be a void when he leaves in leadership and on the list.

[Magpietothemax]

Too right Duggieboy and to think that Pendles is in our best few players still. There will be a void when he leaves in leadership and on the list.

Somehow, I dont ever see him leaving the leadership group.
when he retires, his priority will be the future of Collingwood FC.
He is a Pie for life in every sense of the term.
After he retires (whenever that may be) he will be there to advise, mentor, encourage the leadership group behind the scenes.
I find it hard to imagine Pendles ever becoming an assistant coach at another club, but realistically it may happen, given the nature of professional sport. However, i see that - if it occurs - as merely an interim, training period, to prepare him for the ultimate destiny: our senior coach. It is obvious to all how he is our current onfield coach. His onfield coaching won us the GF. In 2024, we will again benefit from his unparalleled wisdom, acumen and authority onfield.
I see it as a distinct possiblitiy that Pendles will actually never leave Collingwood - instead becoming an assistant coach with us, and then our senior coach. I know others will raise that this trajectory is not a successful one (given the experience with Bux) and Pendles should first get experience elsewhere. But Pendles is not Bux....they are completely different in terms of relationships with team mates, styles of communication, flexibility in messaging, and willingness to loosen the reins and allow others freedom of decision.
As I see it (very conditional, I know!!) I think that it is highly likely Pendles will not ever be at another club. Maybe he will go into media for a short while after retirment, but the connections, the respect, the leadership, the sync that binds him to the Pies is a gigantic and fundamental force in the AFL universe. The relationship between Pendles and the Pies is I feel quite unprecedented in the history of the AFL.

[piffdog]

^^ think he is on the record to say he would go and serve an apprenticeship elsewhere, but easy to see him leading the club as a coach in the future.

[RudeBoy]

^^ think he is on the record to say he would go and serve an apprenticeship elsewhere, but easy to see him leading the club as a coach in the future.

The Hawks always assumed that Lethal would return to coach them, but it never panned out that way.

Naturally we all dream that one day Pendles will coach us, but in all honesty, there are too many unknown factors and hurdles which could easily prevent that.

[Daicos Mullets]

^^ think he is on the record to say he would go and serve an apprenticeship elsewhere, but easy to see him leading the club as a coach in the future.

The Hawks always assumed that Lethal would return to coach them, but it never panned out that way.

Naturally we all dream that one day Pendles will coach us, but in all honesty, there are too many unknown factors and hurdles which could easily prevent that.

Yes, and trying to manufacture that scenario for Bucks led to the handover from Malthouse that went so badly wrong.

I’d love to see Pendles coach the Pies at some point, and I know the personalities involved these days are very different, and I hope the club has learnt a lot along the way, but I’d hate to see us shoot ourselves in the foot again trying to force a situation for Pendles.