May 23 (Reuters) - Dual premiership midfielder Scott Pendlebury became the Australian Football League (AFL) games record holder on Saturday after completing his 433rd match for Collingwood, who defeated West Coast 92-82 in front of 90,028 people in Melbourne.
The six-time All-Australian, who debuted in 2006 and is one of only six players to achieve 400 appearances in the top flight of Australian Rules football, surpassed the previous games record set in 2016 by North Melbourne's Brent Harvey.
"It's been a hell of a ride, there's still more in the tank though... Getting drafted to Collingwood, I feel like I've experienced the ultimate," Pendlebury, who has not yet decided whether to play in 2027, told Fox Footy post-match.
Wearing his signature number 10 emblazoned in gold on the back of a custom-designed guernsey featuring a 'SP433' logo, the former captain picked up 20 possessions and earned rapturous applause from the appreciative home crowd 10 minutes into the first quarter.
Still proving his worth at the age of 38, when most have retired from the physically demanding code, Pendlebury this season claimed a career-best 43 disposals in a match and sparked outcry when he was rested in fixtures where he might have been a difference-maker.
Over 21 seasons, silky-smooth disposal and a unique ability to manufacture time and space have been trademarks for Pendlebury, who averages 25 touches per game and is the only AFL player to haveregistered 10,000 possessions.
(Reporting by Joel Dubber in Perth; Editing by Clare Fallon)
