Wodonga’s hopes of snapping its seven-year finals drought is set to receive a boost with VFL star Ryan Pendlebury firming for a mini-stint with the club.
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Pendlebury nominated the Bulldogs as his second club prior to the season and starred in his only game, against Lavington, on Good Friday.
“It looks like he’ll spend a bit of time with us, he’s really keen to as well, he enjoyed his game and his time with the boys,” coach Dean Harding said.
“The only reason he played last time was the whole Collingwood list was available, I think they only had two guys from the VFL that played that day, the rest of them were their AFL-linked kids.”
Pendlebury suffered a shoulder injury against Lavington and will look to make his return through the O and M.
“We definitely plan on having him for the Yarrawonga (May 27) and Myrtleford (June 17) games because of the byes Collingwood have,” Harding said.
“Those two games in-between, potentially Corowa (Rutherglen) and North Albury, too because Collingwood wants him to get more footy under his belt.”
The defender, who was named in the VFL Team of the Year in 2015, is a member of the Pies’ leadership group.
“He’s fantastic, even that night he played his numbers weren’t enormous, they were mid-20s playing half-back, midfield, but his pressure numbers were enormous,” Harding said.
“His defence numbers were as high as we’ve had for a couple of years.”
Wodonga is currently fourth, with a three-two record, but there’s three others on that, including Saturday’s opponent, Wangaratta.
We definitely plan on having him for the Yarrawonga (May 27) and Myrtleford (June 17) games.
- Dean Harding