Only a few years ago, football was not even on Scott Pendlebury’s radar. Now, at just 19, he has the football world at his feet.
The incredibly gifted midfielder from Sale was somewhat of a surprise selection at No.5 overall in the 2005 AFL Draft, but Collingwood recruiting staff clearly knew what they were getting, but perhaps not even they could envisage what Pendlebury would achieve after only two years in the game.
After nine extremely promising games in 2006, hopes were high Pendlebury could gradually work his way into the midfield and add depth and class to the established hard-working group.
Now, with his 20th birthday still three months away, he has an RT Rush Trophy as Collingwood’s runner-up best-and-fairest in only his second year, and is one of the brightest young midfield stars in the competition.
It didn’t take long for Pendlebury to take the next step in 2007, with his excellent first month of the season capped with an AFL Rising Star nomination following the round four clash against Port. He got the Copeland ball rolling with a vote against West Coast in round two, and another against Port.
A mid-season favourite for the Rising Star honour, he was eventually pipped by Geelong’s Joel Selwood, but a second-placing in a strong field was still a superb effort.
Pendlebury went on to earn single votes against Essendon and Adelaide in rounds five and six, before a remarkable month of form saw him rack up two votes against Carlton in round seven, the Bulldogs in round eight and Fremantle in round 10. Wedged in there was a near best-on-ground three-vote performance in round 10 in Brisbane.
He would go on to earn two votes against Sydney in round 12 and Adelaide in round 22, but sky-rocketed up the Copeland Trophy leaderboard by dominating in the two Sydney games late in the season, earning three votes in round 21 and the elimination final.
Another two votes in the semi final had Pendlebury extraordinarily leading the count.
Only Travis Cloke’s outstanding preliminary final enabled him to overtake Pendlebury, but 2007 this is without doubt merely a taste of what is to come from a future leader of the Magpie midfield.
He will no doubt feature prominently on Copeland Trophy leaderboards for many years to come.
* All single-game vote tallies mentioned in the above article do not include the automatic one vote each player who is part of the playing 22 receives.
COPELAND TROPHY VOTING SYSTEM
1. Each player is allocated one vote for each game in which he is selected to represent the Collingwood Football Club.
2. Up to 20 votes per game can be allocated to the best players as judged by the Collingwood Match Committee. Votes are awarded based on the average vote of all four members of the Match Committee.
3. The maximum number of votes per match a player can receive is 6.
The incredibly gifted midfielder from Sale was somewhat of a surprise selection at No.5 overall in the 2005 AFL Draft, but Collingwood recruiting staff clearly knew what they were getting, but perhaps not even they could envisage what Pendlebury would achieve after only two years in the game.
After nine extremely promising games in 2006, hopes were high Pendlebury could gradually work his way into the midfield and add depth and class to the established hard-working group.
Now, with his 20th birthday still three months away, he has an RT Rush Trophy as Collingwood’s runner-up best-and-fairest in only his second year, and is one of the brightest young midfield stars in the competition.
It didn’t take long for Pendlebury to take the next step in 2007, with his excellent first month of the season capped with an AFL Rising Star nomination following the round four clash against Port. He got the Copeland ball rolling with a vote against West Coast in round two, and another against Port.
A mid-season favourite for the Rising Star honour, he was eventually pipped by Geelong’s Joel Selwood, but a second-placing in a strong field was still a superb effort.
Pendlebury went on to earn single votes against Essendon and Adelaide in rounds five and six, before a remarkable month of form saw him rack up two votes against Carlton in round seven, the Bulldogs in round eight and Fremantle in round 10. Wedged in there was a near best-on-ground three-vote performance in round 10 in Brisbane.
He would go on to earn two votes against Sydney in round 12 and Adelaide in round 22, but sky-rocketed up the Copeland Trophy leaderboard by dominating in the two Sydney games late in the season, earning three votes in round 21 and the elimination final.
Another two votes in the semi final had Pendlebury extraordinarily leading the count.
Only Travis Cloke’s outstanding preliminary final enabled him to overtake Pendlebury, but 2007 this is without doubt merely a taste of what is to come from a future leader of the Magpie midfield.
He will no doubt feature prominently on Copeland Trophy leaderboards for many years to come.
* All single-game vote tallies mentioned in the above article do not include the automatic one vote each player who is part of the playing 22 receives.
COPELAND TROPHY VOTING SYSTEM
1. Each player is allocated one vote for each game in which he is selected to represent the Collingwood Football Club.
2. Up to 20 votes per game can be allocated to the best players as judged by the Collingwood Match Committee. Votes are awarded based on the average vote of all four members of the Match Committee.
3. The maximum number of votes per match a player can receive is 6.
