West Coast did not follow the Hollywood script at the first bounce of Scott Pendlebury's record-breaking 433rd AFL game. The Collingwood champion was celebrated by 90,028 fans at the MCG, but the Eagles had other plans.
The Collingwood banner read: "SP 433 Scott Pendlebury record breaker." The West Coast banner was defiant: "Crashing the party on Pies Territory, Waalitj Marawar is here to steal the story."
After a pre-match celebration of papal proportions—missing only white smoke from the nearby Nilex clock silo made famous by Paul Kelly—the Eagles did exactly as their cheer squad promised, becoming unwelcome gatecrashers.
Pendlebury was clapped onto the ground by a guard of honour featuring former teammates, club officials, family, and friends. He wore a gold number 10 on his back, and surprisingly, each of his 22 teammates also wore gold numbers. Collingwood coach Craig McRae said the Pies "might get in trouble" from the AFL but "we wanted to look like a team." Pendlebury also wore celebratory boots designed by his children.
West Coast wunderkind Harley Reid was celebrating a more modest 50-game milestone, but his boots were anything but modest—luminous pink. Reid walked the walk too, sticking to his own script. At the first stoppage, he lined up directly opposite the record breaker and stuck a fend-off straight in his face, sending Pendlebury to the turf. Reid then burst away to set up Elliot Yeo for the first goal of the game.
Pendlebury responded moments later with a muscle-twitching hip and shoulder on Reid on the boundary line, sparking a melee involving both players. The game was only minutes old, and the significance of the occasion was absorbed by the on-field action.
West Coast, renamed Waalitj Marawar for Sir Doug Nicholls Round, had come to play, and the game was deadlocked until Nick Daicos conjured his third goal with just under five minutes remaining. This preceded an ugly melee seconds after Jamie Elliott went down with a knee injury. The game, which had been played in great spirit up to that point, deserved better.
Tens of thousands of Collingwood diehards and a healthy contingent of Eagles fans had begun lining up outside the MCG gates three hours before the game. Inside, a giant SP 433 was painted on one members' wing, and ground staff handed out free SP433 signs, which fans held up at the 10-minute mark of the first quarter. An hour and a half before the game, images and video tributes were rolled out on the giant scoreboard.
Unprecedented merchandise is expected to earn Pendlebury $500,000, with the AFL allowing 100 per cent of his commercial windfall to sit outside the club's salary cap. No one would begrudge him that, as he is currently locked in a multimillion-dollar legal battle with his former manager, Jason Sourasis, with allegations that $2.6 million was siphoned from his investment accounts and a $300,000 personal loan left unpaid.
Pendlebury wore 12 jumpers during the game, each displaying the number 433 on the chest. The milestone man revealed they would be given to his parents, brothers, and children. No doubt he washed the game down with an SP 433 Record Breaker Pinot Noir, produced exclusively for the game at Yering Station in the Yarra Valley. A signed single bottle could be purchased for $149, with a 12-pack collector's edition for $1799.
The AFL Record was renamed The Scott Pendlebury for the day, with the word "game" written 433 times on the back of the glossy souvenir edition. Boots, wine, and watches were available for fans to purchase. Pendlebury also wore a one-of-a-kind dual premiership ring when he arrived at the MCG. Made by jeweller Jeff Devers, it is valued at $50,000 and will be auctioned off post-match, with all proceeds going to My Room Children's Cancer Charity.
"Today's been really normal," Pendlebury told Fox Footy. "Mum and Dad stayed over last night and just pretty much played a bit of PlayStation this morning with my son. Sonic Olympics. Lost a Rugby 7's to him so copped that from him this morning. A pretty cruisy day." He added, "It is different. Since 'Fly' (McRae) has been here, we've been big on embracing the occasion. And this is a little bit different because it's an individual games thing. I've tried to lap it up and enjoy it. It was pretty funny—I was doing some shopping yesterday down in Elwood, and they clapped me when I walked out, and I was holding a pumpkin. It's like 'I'm getting clapped for buying a pumpkin.' It's been fun, I've enjoyed it, and now is the easy part where I get to go out and play."
Collingwood got the four points in the end, winning by 10 points. The Eagles earned the respect they craved. Pendlebury got the win he deserved, and there was even a chat with Harley after the final siren, an official interview before he was chaired off the ground between a guard of honour formed by both teams.
"I wasn't really going head to head (with Harley). He put me on my arse straight away," Pendlebury said of his first-quarter clash with the young Eagle in his post-game interview. Pendlebury said it had been a "hell of a ride" but there was "still plenty left in the tank." A Brownlow remains the only elusive prize in a career that has produced five grand finals (one draw), two flags, a Norm Smith Medal, five best and fairests, and six All-Australians. And now the games record. Bravo.
