Collingwood’s strategic mastermind, Jarrod Wade, has once again earned high praise from senior coach Craig McRae, following the successful implementation of a tailored game plan designed to optimise the performance of veteran Scott Pendlebury. The Magpies’ triumph over St Kilda, a thrilling encounter that capped off the opening weekend of the AFL season, saw the much-loved ‘Pendles’ deliver a career-best five goal assists.
In the aftermath of the hard-fought 78-66 victory, McRae was effusive in his commendation of both his enduring star and the high-performance boss responsible for orchestrating Pendlebury’s impactful cameo.
“Jarrod Wade; I repeat myself year after year, but he’s the best I’ve ever worked with,” McRae stated. “He had a deliberate plan to do that (restrict Pendlebury’s minutes).”
McRae elaborated on the sophisticated approach employed by Wade, highlighting the meticulous analysis that underpinned the strategy. “He’s been studying the prior games and just doing algorithms around the new rotations with five on the bench. We just thought Pendlebury was the guy; he’d come on late in the first quarter, late in the second, and then be fresh for the second half.”
True to the legacy of his illustrious 426-game career, Pendlebury once again proved instrumental for the Magpies. Despite spending a significant portion of his pre-season training in a halfback role, he seamlessly transitioned into a crucial link between Collingwood’s midfield and forward lines. His ability to influence the game, even with limited on-field presence, was remarkable.
In a mere 55% of game time, the Sale native amassed an impressive statistical line: 26 disposals at 80% efficiency, five goal assists, 10 score involvements, eight marks, and four tackles. His performance was punctuated by moments of signature brilliance, where he appeared to manipulate the passage of play and showcase his innate football intuition. A particularly eye-catching moment saw him execute an overhead handball while being pressured out of bounds by Marcus Windhager, expertly setting up Beau McCreery for a goal. This audacious play drew an audible gasp of admiration from the 82,528 spectators packed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
A Strategic Approach for an Evolving Squad
The acknowledged age profile of the Victorian powerhouse has clearly prompted a proactive and strategic approach from the Collingwood leadership. McRae and Wade appear keenly aware of the planning required to manage an experienced roster. The success of Pendlebury’s managed minutes against St Kilda suggests this will be a defining characteristic of the Magpies’ early-season campaign. This strategy will likely extend to other seasoned campaigners, with players like Steele Sidebottom also featuring in managed roles, and key veterans Darcy Moore and Jeremy Howe yet to make their season debuts due to injury.
“I think early in the year, we’ll hold a player back. Again, we’re working through it. ‘Pendles’ did it really well tonight,” McRae confirmed.
Maximising Experience for Season-Long Success
Maintaining the freshness and effectiveness of their champion veterans and their contemporaries throughout an increasingly demanding AFL season is a paramount objective for Collingwood. If the extended bench can be leveraged with similar strategic acumen in the coming weeks and months, it could provide the Magpies with a significant advantage, potentially enabling them to defy pre-season predictions and conventional wisdom, and once again emerge as genuine contenders.
Addressing Areas for Improvement
As is typical after the first outing of the year, Collingwood identified several areas within their game that require further refinement. The victory over St Kilda was made all the more satisfying by the team’s ability to overcome these challenges. Notably, the Magpies were significantly outplayed in the territory battle, losing the inside 50 count by a considerable margin of 23. However, they demonstrated a newfound maturity by effectively mitigating the opposition’s momentum through the strategic use of uncontested mark chains.
An Evolving Style of Play
This evolution in their game is something McRae takes considerable pride in, particularly after witnessing his team adopt a more helter-skelter style of play during his tenure.
“We felt like part of our progression of our team had to be certain phases of our offence and defence,” the premiership coach commented.
He further explained the underlying philosophy: “Tyson Goldsack’s come in and he’s running the offence. You defend the scoreboard with the ball in hand. Brisbane do it better than anyone else. There’s times that we just took a lot of marks that killed minutes that we didn’t have to play later. We defended the game differently or defended the time differently early in the quarter.”
A Challenging Fixture Ahead
The challenges for McRae and his coaching staff are set to intensify, with a demanding fixture list on the horizon. The Magpies are set to face a series of strong opposition teams, including Adelaide, GWS, Brisbane, and Fremantle, over the course of the next month.
