It all leads to this. The grind. The sacrifice. The hill sprints. The saunas and the ice baths. The relentless pursuit of greatness.

Pendles takes us behind the curtain as the pre-season journey transforms into game day reality. Inside the team meetings, through the nerves, and into the pages of his game day diary—20 years in the making. From a pre-season hit-out against Richmond to the real deal: Opening Round against the GWS Giants.

The final preparations for game day. The airport. Waking up in Sydney. Finding the coffee shop for the team. The nerves from the hotel room. The smells and feelings of the match itself. And even the car ride home. 

The pre-season is officially done. Now, the marathon is underway.

Thanks Pendles. 

**

To celebrate the episode finale, check out The Pendlebury's special wine range.. including a special Duo drop, celebrating Steele Sidebottom and Scott's games played together. 

**

Collingwood have also welcomed fans into their inner sanctum during the 2025 AFL pre-season through their new docuseries, 'The Grind'. The Grind is now live and available to watch on the Collingwood Football Club YouTube channel. 

**

If you have arrived at episode eight, head back to the episode one to hear the full journey. 

Subscribe to the Howie Games feed so you don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to the feed on Apple, Spotify or LiSTNR here: https://linktr.ee/thehowiegames

It all leads to this. The grind. The sacrifice. The hill sprints. The saunas and the ice baths. The relentless pursuit of greatness.
Pendles takes us behind the curtain as the pre-season journey transforms into game day reality. Inside the team meetings, through the nerves, and into the pages of his game day diary&mdash;20 years in the making. From a pre-season hit-out against Richmond to the real deal: Opening Round against the GWS Giants.
The final preparations for game day. The airport. Waking up in Sydney. Finding the coffee shop for the team. The nerves from the hotel room. The smells and feelings of the match itself. And even the car ride home.&nbsp;
The pre-season is officially done.&nbsp;Now, the marathon is underway.
Thanks Pendles.&nbsp;
**
<a href="https://thependleburys.com.au/the-wines/">To celebrate the episode finale, check out The Pendlebury's special wine range.. including a special Duo drop, celebrating Steele Sidebottom and Scott's games played together.&nbsp;</a>
**
Collingwood have also welcomed fans into their inner sanctum during the 2025 AFL pre-season through their new docuseries, 'The Grind'. The Grind is now live and available to watch on the <a href="https://youtu.be/TGDVb7qcM7Y?si=1aRy91nnJ6wQH-ra">Collingwood Football Club YouTube channel.&nbsp;</a>
**
If you have arrived at episode eight, head back to the episode one to hear the full journey.&nbsp;
Subscribe to the Howie Games feed so you don&rsquo;t miss an episode! Subscribe to the feed on Apple, Spotify or LiSTNR here:&nbsp;<a href="https://linktr.ee/thehowiegames">https://linktr.ee/thehowiegames</a>

Where the biggest names in the world of sport go one-on-one with sports journalist Mark Howard. From ultimate highs to tear-jerking lows, Howie lifts the lid on the real stories behind the headlines. He sits down with the biggest names in Australian & world sport, finding out how they started out, what makes them tick, how they deal with the big wins and the big losses, and how they take on sport and life from here.

Where the biggest names in the world of sport go one-on-one with sports journalist Mark Howard. From ultimate highs to tear-jerking lows, Howie lifts the lid on the real stories behind the headlines. He sits down with the biggest names in Australian &amp; world sport, finding out how they started out, what makes them tick, how they deal with the big wins and the big losses, and how they take on sport and life from here.

Where the biggest names in the world of sport go one-on-one with sports journalist Mark Howard.  From ultimate highs to tear-jerking lows, Howie lifts the lid on the real stories behind the headlines.  He sits down with the biggest...