Scott Pendlebury has been rewarded for a standout performance against Hawthorn on Saturday night at the MCG.

None were better than the Collingwood captain as the Magpies overcame a 43-point deficit to beat the Hawks by three goals.

Pendlebury had 36 touches, seven clearances and nine tackles – clearly enough to receive maximum votes from coaches Nathan Buckley and Alastair Clarkson in the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year award.

Jeremy Howe and Adam Treloar received five votes apiece, while Taylor Adams was awarded four and Steele Sidebottom one.

No player on the field arguably has received more attention in post-match analysis than Hawthorn midfielder Tom Mitchell.

The former Swan recorded 50 possessions, six more than any other player in Hawthorn’s 92-year history.

Yet the effectiveness of the touches was debated by the respective coaches post game.

“He just finds a way and keeps getting to the pill, (but) if I said he wasn’t hurting us a lot, would that make sense?” Buckley said in his press conference.

Clarkson responded: “I would have thought they were (doing damage) in the first half, because it was 10 goals to four and at quarter-time he’d had (14) disposals and we were six goals in front.”

Buckley later tweeted clarification on his thoughts on Mitchell’s performance (see above), but the votes make it clear that both leaders were undivided in their opinion on the game’s best player.

With Collingwood’s back against the wall and season on the line in the second quarter, the captain stood tall. He had a team-high 11 disposals and assisted three of the Magpies’ four goals in the term.

When time came to be more selfish in the final quarter, Pendlebury won the game off his own boot. With the game in the balance midway through the quarter, he ran inside 50, elected to ignore a running Treloar and kick a vital goal on his left boot. It gave the Magpies a seven-point lead, and one that wouldn’t be overturned for the remainder of the match.

"He's so influential. He is such an amazing leader," teammate Jeremy Howe told AFL Media post match.

"He is a superstar and that is what we have come to expect from him.”

It’s clear the AFL’s coaches share Howe’s view. Pendlebury sits in seventh position on the AFLCA Player of the Year leaderboard, 15 votes behind overall leader, Adelaide’s Rory Sloane.

PENDLES’ PERFORMANCE:

  • 36 disposals
  • 13 contested possessions
  • 9 tackles
  • 9 inside 50s
  • 7 clearances
  • 3 goal assists
  • 1 goal
  • 641 metres gained

AFL COACHES ASSOCIATION CHAMPION PLAYER OF THE YEAR
ROUND 9 – COLLINGWOOD V HAWTHORN

10. Scott Pendlebury
5. Jeremy Howe
5. Tom Mitchell
5. Adam Treloar
4. Taylor Adams
1. Steele Sidebottom

HAVE YOUR SAY...