Masterclass on Anzac Day encapsulates why unflappable Scott Pendlebury is so good
The week in football was characterised in many ways by the absence of competence.There wasn’t much competence over at Kayo, which had more crashes than Leslie Nielsen.There wasn’t much competence in the umpiring on Friday night.There wasn’t much competence at the AFL tribunal, with its barking dogs and house inspections.There wasn’t much competence, or basic decency, at its appeals board.
“Competence porn” is a term we hear a lot these days, mainly in relation to television and film,In a world run by people who temperamentally and intellectually aren’t far from the sandpit, it’s the craving for content that showcases craft and care,It’s there in shows like The Pitt where doctors and nurses under incredible strain maintain both their excellence and (mostly) their sanity,The AFL should poach primary charge nurse Dana Evans from Pittsburgh to run their score review system, or their tribunal, or the whole competition,She’d ship it into shape in half a shift.
Running with that, there’s something reassuring about watching a sportsperson in full command of their emotions and their actions.Early in the Anzac Day clash between Collingwood and Essendon at the MCG, Scott Pendlebury dinked a nine iron straight out on the full.Maybe this was one of those signs that he was at the end of the road.We see those every now and then.We see him get run down from behind.
We see him playing for free kicks more than he used to.We saw it on preliminary final day last year, when he was zipping up his tracksuit top five minutes into the game.On Saturday however, he made his mistake, he shook his head (his version of a tantrum, or self-flagellation) and he went to work.It wasn’t the best game he’s ever played.The quality of the opposition precluded that.
But it was a game that encapsulated why he is so good, and how he is still going,Every one of his 43 touches had its own purpose, its own thought process behind them,Most of them were damaging,Nineteen of them led to scores,As Bombers coach Brad Scott reminded us, Pendlebury has played more games than three-quarters of the Essendon team combined.
Instead of chasing backsides all afternoon, they would have been better served getting out their writing pads and taking notes.They were out of sync, out of position and, after half-time, totally out of gas.He was constantly alert and present, like a soldier patrolling on point.He’s so good at reading the opposition’s minds, at anticipating what they do well and – as was invariably the case in Saturday’s 77-point mauling – what they don’t.At centre square stoppages, an Essendon player would be standing in the wrong spot and Pendlebury would point a finger or raise an eyebrow and shift the geometry of the set up.
He spent the afternoon picking pockets, reorientating his team, and tessellating square metres of space.The Bombers were playing checkers, and Pendles was playing about 10 games of chess simultaneously.This was a frantic game early, and Essendon quickly fatigued.They lost their dare, their composure and yes, their competence.Pendlebury’s game was so orderly in comparison.
He was never rushed, never caught, never fazed and never beaten.He was everything Essendon wasn’t.There were other examples of excellence and competence across the Anzac round – from locomotives Kysaiah Pickett and Jason Horne-Francis, to the privates and lance corporals performing the New Zealand national anthem at the various venues.But it was soured by the events of the week, and the findings of the appeals board in particular.Will Houghton KC was swiftly removed from his duties.
But the damage had been done.It had been insulting on so many levels.It was insulting to the broader gay and lesbian community.But it was insulting to most of the 1,300 listed players across the men and women’s leagues.It assumed that they were living and playing with the same mindset as footballers in the 1980s.
And it was insulting to the AFL itself.They’ve been pilloried for their inconsistency and their shilly shallying, especially with the Izak Rankine slur.They were criticised for the way they initially dealt with Lance Collard.But they’ve been desperate to be seen as leaders on this issue.And now so much of their work has come unglued.
The existence of an independent appeals board is a good thing,But it relies on them living in the 21st century,And it relies on basic competence, a quality that’s still absent in key aspects of the sport,
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