Scott Pendlebury spent the summer training to be redeployed as a defender, after more than 400 games as a midfielder.

He then spent nearly the whole first quarter of the first game of the new season on the bench before coming on as a forward. He then immediately had a hand in the Magpies’ first three goals.

One of the goals the sparingly used veteran Scott Pendlebury set up, this one with a look away handball.Credit: Getty Images

At quarter-time Collingwood’s fitness head Jarrod Wade observed that Jordan De Goey had, according to Craig McRae, “blown up his GPS” running numbers in the first term. So De Goey, a player whose injury history has him now in a permanent state of management, was benched for almost the entire second term.

Pendlebury also sat out 12.5 minutes of the second quarter and finished the game having played just 55 per cent of the match.

When Saints coach Ross Lyon was asked post-match about Pendlebury’s impact, he fussed about with papers of stats as he asked the reporter how many disposals Pendlebury had. He then answered his own question, saying the veteran had just one kick for the first half and drily added that he and his coaches had not spent time discussing him.

Perhaps they should have, for Pendlebury had a career-high five score assists and 10 score involvements.

Power play. Jordan De Goey and Scott Pendlebury used to effect off the bench.Credit: Getty Images

In Sydney, in the first match of the season, Tom Papley spent the first 18 minutes and 58 seconds on the bench before crossing the white line. He finished having played 57 per cent game time, and kicking a goal (though it was not exactly an exclusive goalkickers’ club for the Swans on Thursday night).

On Friday night, Jyhe Clark spent even less time on the ground than Pendlebury, just 50 per cent, while the Suns were sparing with midfielder Alex Davies (59 per cent game time) as they tried to maximise their prime midfielders’ time on the ground.

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