Sidebottom set to exit, one of Pendlebury and Howe makes sense

July 22, 2026 — 3:30pm

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Soon, before the season’s close, Collingwood are expected to announce that their two-time premiership great Steele Sidebottom will retire.

For several weeks, the signs have pointed to Sidebottom finishing at Collingwood this year. After a stellar first half of 2025, when he was close to All-Australian standard, there has been a gradual ebbing of performances on the field for the distinguished 35-year-old.

Sidebottom is said to be comfortable with the prospect of finishing his career, which will fall shy of the 400-game mark (369 now), according to sources familiar with his situation.

The positions of Scott Pendlebury – the AFL’s games record holder and one of Collingwood’s immortals – and the remarkable veteran aerialist Jeremy Howe are yet to settled on by the players or the Magpies as August beckons.

But the most logical scenario is that only one of Pendlebury or Howe will play on at Collingwood in 2027. It’s even conceivable that neither does.

It........

© The Age