‘Least selfish’: Craig McRae denies accusations against Scott Pendlebury — Collingwood news

Collingwood coach Craig McRae has defended the club’s plan with record-breaking Scott Pendlebury, insisting the legend is not ‘selfish’.

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The Magpies have come under fire for resting Pendlebury twice in three weeks for crucial games — last week’s draw against Hawthorn and next weekend’s SCG blockbuster versus Sydney — with the 38-year-old to break Brent Harvey’s games record of 432 against West Coast in Round 11 at the MCG.

AFL critic Kane Cornes suggested Collingwood had put their season at risk by catering to Pendlebury’s record instead of being team first.

However, McRae railed at any commentary about Pendlebury being selfish, insisting the Magpies had worked everything out.

“We’ve got a deliberate plan; Pendles hasn’t played too many five-day breaks in his history,” McRae said in a press conference on Thursday.

“That’s been reported around being selfish, I would have thought Pendles is probably the least selfish person in our team.

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“But he wouldn’t have played last week, he wasn’t in a position to play physically.”

Pendlebury is set to wear a guernsey with a gold number during the record-breaking match against the Eagles.

McRae was adamant Collingwood wanted to highlight their ‘legend’s’ achievement as best as they can.

“He’s about to break the games record, that’s so significant in our game,” he said.

“We’ll continue to celebrate this incredible player within our building, and not walk past it.

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“You don’t get to have legends, actually a living legend in your building.

“What he’s currently doing is quite remarkable.

“We’re all seeing that we don’t want to walk past that.”