Cats would have helped Pies facilitate Pendlebury record

Geelong and Collingwood discussed swapping home games in the event Scott Pendlebury’s record-breaking game fell on a Cats away match.

But while that option was quickly deemed too difficult due to ticketing and other complexities, the Cats were committed to helping the Pies should the Pendlebury moment arrive in Round 9 at the MCG before the Pies great was cleared to play the Tribunal.

Geelong CEO Steve Hocking and Pies counterpart Craig Kelly have had discussions about how the occasion would be met, with Geelong having control of the LEDs, big screen and other activation measures as the home club.

As things stand, Pendlebury is set to become the all-time VFL/AFL games record holder when he goes past Brent Harvey and plays his 433rd game against Hawthorn in Round 8.

But if he couldn’t overturn the one-match suspension at the Tribunal he and the Magpies faced the prospect of celebrating the milestone the following week at a Cats home game at the MCG.

Further complicating the planning was the fact the Pies would have a five-day break between Anzac Day (Round 7) and the Hawthorn game in Round 8, raising concerns Pendlebury could back up quickly enough to feature in both, provided he was rubbed out.

But Geelong was open to helping Collingwood and will work with its rival to support their requirements for the record-breaking game if it was needed.

The two clubs meet again in Round 21 in a Collingwood home game, but the Cats would not have expected anything back the other way for the return bout.