Scott Pendlebury record: Could West Coast use aggressive tactic to spoil party?

West Coast coach Andrew McQualter has indicated he is willing to put a hard tag on record-breaking Scott Pendlebury if it will help his team defeat Collingwood.

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Saturday’s MCG match is supposed to be a celebration of Pendlebury breaking Brent Harvey’s AFL games record of 432 in front of 90,000 fans — predominantly Magpies supporters.

However, the Eagles achieved one of their best wins in years against GWS last weekend and will be primed to spoil the Pendlebury party.

McQualter employed a twin tag on Giants stars Finn Callaghan and Lachie Whitfield to great effect in the victory — and refused to rule out close-checking Pendlebury on Saturday afternoon.

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«My job as a coach is to try and win the game — I’ll do whatever it takes,» McQualter said when asked if he would tag Pendlebury on The Agenda Setters.

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«Honestly, we are acknowledging that it’s an amazing achievement — but our job… we’re not there to celebrate Scott and his day — that’s not what the purpose of us coming over to Melbourne is.

«We are there to win the game of football and do everything we can to improve.»

Pendlebury has been one of Collingwood’s most influential players this season alongside Nick Daicos — with both likely to feature heavily in West Coast’s match planning.

Whitfield only managed 21 disposals under an Eagles tag last week, while Callaghan’a 19 possessions was the first time he has been under 20 since 2024.

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