2026 is set to be a history making year for not just the black and white, but the entire league, with Club legend Scott Pendlebury on the cusp of breaking the all-time games record.
Currently sitting on 425 career games, Pendlebury is tracking down former North Melbourne superstar Brent Harvey who holds the record with 432 matches.
Alongside Pendlebury, there are a few other fan favourites on the precipice of major career milestones.
Find out who will be celebrated as the 2026 season goes on.
Scott Pendlebury – V/AFL games record
Pendlebury currently sits third on the all-time V/AFL games record list, behind only Hawthorn champion Michael Tuck and the Kangaroos’ Harvey.
Pendlebury will equal Tuck’s 426 games and join him in second spot in his first game of the 2026 season, which all going well will be the Pies’ Opening Round clash against St Kilda on Sunday 8 March.
Entering the season seven games adrift from Harvey, the left-footer is on track to equal the record in Round 7, which happens to fall on Anzac Day in the traditional clash with Essendon.
Bigger celebrations will perhaps be saved for his record-breaking 433rd game however, which will likely fall the following week when the Pies host Hawthorn in a blockbuster Thursday night game at the MCG.
Regardless of when Pendlebury’s record-breaking matches come, 2026 is set to be a momentous year for the two-time premiership winner who enters his 21st season at the top level.
Brayden Maynard – 250 games
One of the Pies’ vice-captains in 2025 and a fan favourite, Brayden Maynard is on track to hit a significant career milestone this season as he enjoys the prime of his career.
Maynard sits on 229 career games and with 23 home and away games scheduled, and ideally a finals series to follow, the defender is on track to notch up his 250th match late in the season.
Only twice has Maynard played less than 20 games in a season – in his debut year of 2015, and the Covid-shortened season of 2020 – so all signs point to a celebration of the 29-year-old in the later rounds of 2026.
Daniel McStay – 200 games
Ahead of his fourth year in black and white, McStay is on the cusp of the 200-game mark early in his 2026 campaign.
Ending the 2025 season on 198 matches, the coveted double-century should fall in the opening rounds of the season.
Darcy Moore – 200 games
Much like McStay, the Magpies skipper is on the verge of the 200-game milestone early in the 2026 season.
Finishing 2025 with 195 games next to his name, Moore is on track to celebrate game 200 in Round 5 of the season – a game in which the Pies are set to take on Fremantle as part of Gather Round.
After injuries curtailed the opening years of his career, Moore has played over 20 matches for the past four seasons straight as he prepares to bring up the milestone in his 12th AFL season.
Dan Houston – 200 games
Similar to McStay, the vast majority of Houston’s career matches have been played elsewhere, however he too is set to celebrate his 200th match in 2026.
The half-back flanker notched up most of his 189 career games during his time with Port Adelaide and played 21 games in his first season in black and white last year.
The milestone will fall in Round 11 when the Magpies host the West Coast Eagles at the MCG should Houston play all available games.
Jordan De Goey – 200 games
2026 is shaping up to be a celebration of the Pies’ 2014 draft crop, with De Goey – just like Moore and Maynard – likely to celebrate a major milestone throughout the season.
With 182 career games next to his name, De Goey will be hoping for a clean run of games this year so he can bring up the double century at AFL level as the season goes on.
