SCOTT Pendlebury will have no trouble holding onto the No. 2 position in the Official AFL Player Ratings, brought to you by Gatorade, if he can continue his great run of form against Essendon.
The Collingwood skipper has averaged 20.4 player ratings points in matches against the Bombers since the start of the 2010 season.
And when it comes to games played on Anzac Day, Pendlebury's average rises to 22.7 points.
In all games against Essendon, the silky-skilled midfielder averages 31 disposals and 5.3 inside-50s, compared to 28.6 disposals and 3.9 inside-50s against the other 16 clubs.
In the overall player ratings standings, Pendlebury is 78 points behind the No. 1 man, Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett.
But Pendlebury has been the highest scorer in 2014, tallying two more points than Ablett.
Other than Pendlebury, the other great performers in recent Anzac Day matches at the MCG have been Essendon's David Zaharakis (average of 19.3 points per game) and Jobe Watson (18.8), along with Collingwood's Dane Swan (18.1) and Travis Cloke (17.2).
A player heading in the wrong direction on the table is North Melbourne key forward Drew Petrie.
Having started the season at a career-high position of No. 34, his poor run of form has seen him slip to No. 67.
And things get no easier for Petrie on Friday, as his Kangaroos take on Fremantle, a team he has struggled badly against in recent years.
Petrie has kicked only one goal and contributed just two score-assists in his past five games against the Dockers.
He has averaged a paltry 3.9 player ratings points in those matches.
Against all other clubs, Petrie has averaged 2.3 goals and 1.1 score-assists per game.
