SCOTT’S GOT A MIDDLE RIDDLE
So many engine-room stars but how to use them and will they jell?
DANIEL Wells will play his first AFL match since August tomorrow against Geelong, but whether he runs out with Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury is yet to be seen.
Pendlebury suffered an ankle injury in the Magpies’ narrow win over Brisbane Lions last week.
While the 30-year-old has been cleared of a serious setback, he could yet sit out the MCG clash after missing training yesterday.
“We’ll name him and give him every chance but he has to be under some doubt given that he didn’t train,” coach Nathan Buckley said.
“We’ll run him all the way to the line.”
Buckley said Pendlebury’s demonstrated ability to push through the pain barrier would give him every chance of lining up.
“Some guys have a threshold to be able to play with pain and injury ... Pendles is a guy that has played through quite a bit,” he said.
“Not all of it people on the other side of the fence would know. He’s extremely courageous in that sense and just finds a way.”
Wells, 33, has overcome hamstring and achilles problems to finally crack into Collingwood’s side.
Buckley suggested a return might have come sooner if not for his highperforming side, at 4-3 in the win-loss, like tomorrow’s opponents.
“When your side is performing at the top it gives you a few more options,” he said. “We’ve been able to be a little bit more patient with some guys coming back and that’s not a bad position to be in.”
Wells played 10 matches for the Magpies last season, losing just two.
“He was a very important player for us playing our best footy last year. We’re still exploring what our best footy looks like this year (and) he’ll get his chance,” he said.
Geelong will field its star midfield trio — Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood and Gary Ablett — for just the third time together.
Buckley said a decision on who, if anyone, to tag and when to do it would come down to match day.
“We can’t tag all of those players or cover them all ... but we can enforce a game style that we think suits us and take it away from the opposition,” he said.