IF EVERYONE loves Lenny, they are also quite smitten with 'Pendles'.
Lenny Hayes and Scott Pendlebury are among that rare breed of players who attract the kind of respect that traverses club loyalties.
Not surprisingly, these magnificent midfielders have also formed a mutual admiration society of their own.
In many ways, despite their eight-year age gap, the retired Saint, 34, and Magpie captain, 26, are kindred spirits.
They share several similar playing and personal traits, and a mutual mate – Jason Gram, who played alongside Hayes in the 2010 drawn Grand Final and replay.
However, their experiences as opponents in the 2010 Grand Finals could not have contrasted more starkly … aside from the fact both won Norm Smith Medals and remain the only joint medallists from the same year.
In the drawn game, the heroic Hayes played the game of his life to almost lift the Saints to an elusive second premiership, while Pendlebury performed below his lofty standards while battling an upset stomach.
In the next week's replay their fortunes reversed – Pendlebury was brilliant in a big Pies' victory, while Hayes failed to exude the same influence and it was his turn to feel crook in the guts after finishing runner-up for the second year running.
They were linked long before they cemented their greatness in the 2010 finals series.
When Collingwood drafted Pendlebury at the end of 2005, Pendlebury’s older brother Kris (who played with the Pies' reserves) was living with Gram, a mate from their native Sale.
Scott Pendlebury would regularly hang out with the pair and, through Gram, occasionally bumped into Hayes socially.
By that stage, Pendlebury was already modelling himself on the star Saint, both in playing style and demeanour.
"Lenny is one of my favourite players, and I've always looked up to him as a player I wanted to be like – 'Grammy' would tell you that," Pendlebury told the AFL Record before the finals.
"When 'Richo' (St Kilda coach Alan Richardson) was a development coach with us, we'd go to games and specifically watch guys for my learning, and Lenny and Simon Black were the two I tried to pick apart.
"I looked up to them as people, not just a players. When you admire somebody, you tend to follow their path."
Hayes marvels at how quickly Pendlebury established himself as a player and leader.
"Pendles seemed so mature and such a good leader from a young age, while it took me longer to develop as a player and a person," Hayes says.
Read the full feature on Hayes and Pendlebury in the Grand Final edition of the AFL Record. The national edition is on sale now at selected newsagencies across the country. The souvenir match-day edition, featuring a gold cover, will be on sale at the MCG on Saturday.
