Pies perk up

THE Gold Coast in January is as much about the coffee dates as it is the footy for Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury.

The midfielder says time spent chatting over a long macchiato was just as important as yesterday’s full-contact match simulation.

Collingwood are spending a week on the Gold Coast for the second-straight year, having devoted chunks of their preseason in the US states of Utah and Arizona previous to that.

“You get away for a camp, change of environment, bit of bonding and the heat up here is nice,” Pendlebury said.