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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

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, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). He served as Collingwood captain from 2014 to 2022. Pendlebury is a dual premiership player, also winning the

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 Footbal ...

as best on ground in the 2010 grand final replay, and was the AFLCA champion player of the year in 2013. He is a six-time

All-Australian 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-perfo ...

and five-time Copeland Trophy winner, and is the Collingwood games record holder with 414 games. Pendlebury is the league record holder for disposals, handballs and tackles, and also has the most

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

votes of any player who has not won the award.

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 Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

; however, after three weeks at the AIS, he decided to quit the under-18s squad and return to Victoria to pursue professional football with the Gippsland Power in the

TAC Cup The Talent League (also known as the Coates Talent League under naming rights and previously as the NAB League and TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition based in Melbourne and run by the Australian Foot ...

. Pendlebury's vacated place in the AIS squad was taken by Patty Mills, 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. Growing up, Pendlebury supported the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

. 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 competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

AFL career

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 debut in Round 10 against the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

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

rookie midfielder Joel Selwood. 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 behind Travis Cloke.

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 on ANZAC Day and placing a close second behind Paul Medhurst 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 and Heath Shaw. 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 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

and another career high 20 handballs against the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers or colloquially the Tiges, is a professional Australian rules football team competing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Founded in 1885 in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, Ric ...

. 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-perfo ...

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 poll ...

, 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 Copeland Trophy 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, Sam Mitchell (disqualified) and Nick Dal Santo.

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 Copeland Trophy to winner Dayne Beams and in front of three-time champion Dane Swan. 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 Copeland Trophy beating former champion Dane Swan. 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. He also won his third Copeland Trophy, the Magpie Army Player of the Year award and the Gavin Brown Award.

2015

During the 2015 Copeland Trophy event, Eddie McGuire announced that Pendlebury had re-signed with Collingwood until the end of 2020. Pendlebury said at the 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; despite this, he maintained his consistency. His professionalism and inspiration prompted 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 The Gold Coast Suns, officially the Gold Coast Football Club, are a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in the ...

. 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).

2020

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.

2023

Pendlebury resigned his post as captain of Collingwood after the

2022 AFL season The 2022 AFL season was the 126th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featur ...

. In Round 17 of the

2023 AFL season The 2023 AFL season was the 127th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 18 clubs and ran from 16 March to 30 September, comprising a 23-m ...

, Pendlebury broke the VFL/AFL all-time disposal record, surpassing Robert Harvey. As a premiership player in the 2023 AFL Grand Final, Pendlebury broke his 13-year-long premiership drought, alongside Steele Sidebottom, which is a league record between premierships. This game also saw Pendlebury draw level with

Gordon Coventry Gordon Richard James Coventry (25 September 1901 – 7 November 1968) was a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL). Afforded ' ...

for the most AFL finals played at Collingwood, with 31 apiece.

2024

In 2024, Pendlebury became the first VFL/AFL player to reach 10,000 disposals. In round 21 of the

2024 AFL season The 2024 AFL season was the 128th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 18 clubs and ran from 7 March to 28 September, comprising ...

, in Collingwood's game against Carlton, Pendlebury became the sixth player in VFL/AFL history to play 400 games.

Personal life

Pendlebury was born and raised in

Sale, Victoria Sale is a city situated in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia and the council capital of the Shire of Wellington. It had an estimated population of 15,305 in 2022 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The total population in ...

. He attended Catholic College Sale. He played alongside former Collingwood players Dale Thomas, Tyson Goldsack, and Brent Macaffer at the

Gippsland Power The Gippsland Power is an Australian rules football team in the Talent League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. Honours *Premierships (1): 2005 *Runners-up (3): 1999, 2010, 2012 *Minor Premiers (3): 2005, 2007, 2 ...

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 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 they welcomed a daughter in November 2019.

Statistics

''Updated to the end of round 13, 2025''. , - ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

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2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, , , , 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 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

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2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, , , , 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 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, , , , 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 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, , , , 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 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, , , , 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 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, , , , 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 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, , , , 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 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, , , , 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 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, , , , 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 The year 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 even ...

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2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, , , , 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 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

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2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

^# , , , , 10 , 25 , , 9 , , 3 , , 305 , , 266 , , 571 , , 89 , , 108 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 12.2 , , 10.6 , , 22.8 , , 3.6 , , 4.3 , , 6 , - ,

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, , , , 10 , 20 , , 7 , , 4 , , 220 , , 194 , , 414 , , 62 , , 79 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 11.0 , , 9.7 , , 20.7 , , 3.1 , , 4.0 , , 2 , - ,

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, , , , 10 , 11 , , 1 , , 4 , , 115 , , 144 , , 259 , , 51 , , 40 , , 0.1 , , 0.4 , , 10.5 , , 13.1 , , 23.5 , , 4.6 , , 3.6 , , , - class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 , Career ! 414 !! 202 !! 127 !! 5273 !! 5287 !! 10560 !! 1634 !! 1941 !! 0.5 !! 0.3 !! 12.7 !! 12.8 !! 25.5 !! 3.9 !! 4.7 !! 223 Notes

Honours and achievements

Team * AFL premiership player ():

* AFL minor premiership/

McClelland Trophy The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football club championship trophy, awarded each year to the club with the best aggregate performance across the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) seasons. The trophy was inaugur ...

():

* NAB Cup:

( Collingwood) Individual *

: 2010 replay * Collingwood captain: 2014–2022 * AFLCA champion player of the year: 2013 * Collingwood games record holder * 6×

* 5× Copeland Trophy: 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 * 2× AFLPA best captain: 2020, 2022 * AFLCA best young player: 2007 * 3× Anzac Medal: 2010, 2011, 2019 * AFL Rising Star nominee:

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) Gippsland Power players Sale Football Club players Copeland Trophy winners Australian rules footballers from Sale, Victoria Australia international rules football team players VFL/AFL premiership players 21st-century Australian sportsmen