Scott Pendlebury will break the AFL record for most games played, surpassing Brent Harvey's 432-game mark, in his 21st season.
He debuted in round 10, 2006, for Collingwood against Brisbane.
A League Ago: The World When Pendlebury Debuted
June 3, 2006. As a young Pendlebury ran out for the first time, the AFL—and the world—looked remarkably different.
The AFL Landscape
- On the Field: Michael Voss and Brad Scott were playing for Brisbane.
- Coaching Carousel: Seven current AFL coaches were still active players: Brad Scott, Sam Mitchell, Steven King, Josh Carr, Adem Yze, Dean Cox, Andrew McQualter, and Michael Voss.
- Future Stars: Tom Hawkins won the Larke Medal. Lance Franklin had played just 12 AFL games.
- Veterans: Alastair Clarkson had coached fewer than 40 games. Brent Harvey was only halfway through his career. Kevin Sheedy was still the coach of Essendon.
- New Blood: Ross Lyon had not yet coached an AFL game.
- Honours: Ben Cousins was the reigning Brownlow medallist.
The Teammates Who Weren't Born Yet
Four of Pendlebury's current Collingwood teammates—Sam Swadling, Jai Saxena, Tyan Prindable, and Zac McCarthy—were not yet born. Sam Lalor and Willem Duursma also had not entered the world.
Meanwhile, other stars were just children:
- Nick Daicos was 3 years old.
- Marcus Bontempelli was 10.
- Margot Robbie was 15.
- Oscar Piastri was 5.
- Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya were 9.
- Robert Irwin was 2.
The Tech & Culture Void
- Disconnected: The iPhone did not exist. Twitter was less than 3 months old. Instagram was 4 years from launch.
- Pop Culture: The song was "I Wish I Was a Punkrocker" by Sandi Thom. TV featured Grey's Anatomy season 2 and Chris Hemsworth on Home and Away. The film The Devil Wears Prada was about to be released. Taylor Swift was about to release her debut single.
- What Didn't Exist Yet: Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
- Meghan Markle was a briefcase girl on Deal or No Deal.
The World at Large
- Politics: John Howard was Prime Minister of Australia.
- Global Sports:
- LeBron James played for the Cleveland Cavaliers (first stint).
- Cristiano Ronaldo was at Manchester United (first stint).
- Novak Djokovic's best Grand Slam result was the third round.
- Life & Death: Steve Irwin was alive.
- Venues: Marvel Stadium was called Telstra Dome.
- Retail: Video Ezy and Blockbuster were still in business. People still bought ringtones.
- Media: Channel 10 had the AFL rights. The AFL Record cost $3.