Scott Pendlebury is as hungry as ever as he enters his 19th AFL season.
The Collingwood great played his 383rd AFL game in last year’s Grand Final win over Brisbane as he was able to lift the premiership cup for the second time in his career.
While he’s done almost everything you can do in footy, the 36-year-old says he’s motivated to win a third premiership and go back-to-back with his Magpies teammates in 2024.
“That's sort of always been my motto – prepare well, do the work,” Pendlebury told Channel Nine.
“I've never been one for sort of individual stuff. There's a bigger carrot that I'm going to chase next year, we all know what that is (a third premiership).
“That's the aim. That's the goal. That's why I keep playing.”
As things stand, Pendlebury sits equal sixth on the VFL/AFL all-time games list alongside Robert Harvey.
The five ahead of him in Brent Harvey, Michael Tuck, Shaun Burgoyne, Kevin Bartlett and Dustin Fletcher are all a part of the 400 club. Pendlebury will become the sixth player to pass the 400-game mark if he remains injury-free in the 2024 season.
As well as being the next man to likely cross 400 games, SEN host Julian De Stoop is certain that Pendlebury will one day sit atop the all-time games played list in VFL/AFL history, passing Harvey who played 432 games for North Melbourne.
Given how well Pendlebury performed in 2023 and his noted professionalism, De Stoop thinks the veteran Magpie could easily play more than two more seasons.
“He’s 17 games away, Scott Pendlebury from joining the 400 club, and 49 games away from equalling Brent Harvey's record 432 games,” De Stoop said on SEN Mornings.
“I'll give you a take it to the bank. Scott Pendlebury will break Brent Harvey's record. Take it to the bank.
“49 games to go. Just over two seasons, if everything goes right.
“The way he plays, the way he prepares, the way he keeps his body out of harm's way, his adaptability to play in different roles. He'll do it. Take it to the bank.
“Scott Pendlebury, by the end of his career, will have played more games than anyone in the history of VFL/AFL Footy.”
If he is selected in each game and remains injury-free, Pendlebury will reach 400 games against Geelong in Round 18.
