Can Pendlebury turn Gold Coast's fortunes around?

After 21 seasons and 442 games in black and white, Scott Pendlebury has played his final game for Collingwood.  

Hours after Collingwood’s season concluded against the Bulldogs in the first-ever Wildcard Final on Friday night, it was reported the Magpies' legend made the call to leave and join Gold Coast on a four-year deal, with the club confirming his departure on Saturday morning.

Currently, it is expected that the 38-year-old will play for two of the seasons before transitioning into the coaching space alongside Damien Hardwick for the remaining two. This should see him become the first V/AFL player to cross the 450-game mark in 2027.

With the Suns adding some experience and leadership to their list following a disappointing 13th-place finish, there is a belief in the Sunshine State he could help turn the side around.

“It's a big move, one we've become more accustomed to in recent years around Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge and a few others as well,” Tom Morris told SEN’s Crunch Time.

“But there'll be Collingwood fans out there this morning going, what is going on?

“They can't imagine him playing for the Suns against the Pies. 442 games for Collingwood, but he wants to be a coach; he wants to learn in other environments.

“And the Suns this morning, the people I've spoken to up there who didn't know this was happening, are just chock a block full of excitement.

“They can't believe (it and) they think he could turn this club around.”

But with the current arrangement seeing the 442-game player play into his 40s, Ken Hinkley expressed some surprise at this view.

Hinkley: “Sorry, turn it around?”

Morris: “Turn it around from a non-finals team to a finals team."

Hinkley: “They played finals last year though."

Morris: “Not this year.”

Hinkley: “Yeah, but they went and got (Christian) Petracca and Jamarra Ugle-Hagen and that didn't quite (work).”

But as Morris points out, the club is hopeful that the Collingwood legend will offer a point of difference to what they experienced this season.

“The other element here, the view internally there is it was a bit chaotic this year,” he continued.

“It was a bit crazy, and one thing Pendlebury is not is chaotic and crazy.

“He's methodical, he's pragmatic, and he's going to be an excellent teacher and leader, and I've spoken to his manager this morning, who just said that he's super excited about getting up there and being part of the group.”

The Suns currently have Pick 60 in the draft, having traded their first, second and third round picks. They won't have to trade for Pendlebury, who comes to the club as an unrestricted free agent.

But they are expected to receive Band One compensation (first round pick) for Ben King, which will see them receive Pick 7.