Scott Pendlebury has addressed the ongoing criticism from Kane Cornes, making his feelings clear about the Channel 7 commentator without directly engaging in a war of words. Cornes has been a vocal critic of Collingwood's careful management of Pendlebury in recent weeks as the veteran approaches the VFL/AFL games record.
Pendlebury will surpass North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey's mark of 432 games in front of Collingwood's home fans at the MCG this Saturday, a moment the club has orchestrated by resting the 38-year-old for their Round 8 draw with Hawthorn and their narrow Round 10 loss to Sydney.
Before those breaks, Pendlebury produced a 43-disposal, two-goal performance against Essendon to win the Anzac Day Medal, followed by a 27-disposal, one-goal game against Geelong. Despite these impressive outings, Cornes questioned the decision to rest Pendlebury, saying after the Hawthorn draw, "Pendlebury would've been handy."
Collingwood coach Craig McRae has staunchly defended the club's management of their former captain and six-time best and fairest winner. After the loss to Sydney last Friday night, McRae posed a rhetorical question: "Well, do you want to celebrate the record for the most games in the history of the game here tonight, or would you rather do it next week at the MCG?" He added, "When Pendles has played that many games, we want to make sure we celebrate him in the right manner. His body isn't as bulletproof as you think he is. Five and six-day breaks — all the data says he is just getting to the line, and we are looking after him. And we will celebrate him appropriately."
On Monday night's episode of The Agenda Setters, Cornes doubled down, calling on West Coast to take the perceived disrespect personally. He urged the Eagles to use the situation as motivation, saying, "Collingwood have hand-picked you as the team that they know they are going to beat so we can have a great day for Scott Pendlebury. It's the greatest motivating factor that I've seen for any team in recent times." Cornes added, "Put it up on the whiteboard. If I see any West Coast player go and shake hands with Scott Pendlebury before the game, if I see the coach during the week pump up Scott Pendlebury — no, no, no. They have hand-picked you to beat you to make sure it is Scott Pendlebury's greatest day of all time."
Speaking to Sunrise on Tuesday morning, Pendlebury tried to avoid the debate but made his opinion of Cornes clear. "I think that's just Kane's nature, isn't it? Trying to draw himself into headlines," Pendlebury said. "I don't need to comment on that. I'm looking forward to the week and it should be really exciting."
Cornes also singled out West Coast young gun Harley Reid, who starred in the Eagles' upset victory over GWS, suggesting he should be motivated to spoil the party. "If he's not motivated by this and if those senior players don't want to come along for the ride with him, then something's wrong with this group," Cornes said. "I expect a far closer game this Saturday than what Collingwood are expecting."
