The Agenda Setters host Craig Hutchison has floated a left-field option for clubs to secure Scott Pendlebury as a player-coach in a creative salary cap arrangement.

Pendlebury may have played his last game for Collingwood after suffering a hamstring injury in last Friday night’s loss to Brisbane.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Scott Pendlebury’s coaching transition sparks creative club strategies

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He will be out for the next 2-3 weeks, meaning the Pies need to win at least two knockout finals for the 38-year-old to play again.

Pendlebury, who is out of contract, is keen to play on in 2027, though there are different views within the Collingwood setup as to whether he is worthy of a list spot.

Scott Pendlebury’s season may be over after he was injured in the Magpies’ loss to Brisbane. Credit: AAP

Essendon made a play for the left-footer, though it was knocked back, while Gold Coast is understood to have expressed interest in the two-time premiership player joining as a free agent.

Hutchison believes a club could entice Pendlebury as an assistant coach, but on the playing list.

“It’s really clear. The only way a club can afford him as an assistant coach is to pay him to play,” Hutchison said on The Agenda Setters.

“And if you run that lens on it, it’s obvious. Like, it doesn’t matter if he plays four games, six games, eight games, 10 games. You can just use the list as the mechanism to pay him proper, meaningful money to come and be an assistant coach who plays a bit and coaches mostly.

“I think it’s an obvious move for clubs who have arrived at that view and are working it out in real time, and ... money is not insignificant to him. I don’t say disrespectful to his circumstances, but he’s been through a bit. 

“If he was an assistant coach, you’re only going to be able to pay him $200-300k in the soft cap, whereas you can pay him $750,000 to play six or eight games.

“And if you’re a lower club, as if you couldn’t get eight or 10 games into him by two years. So I think it’s really interesting and Collingwood are not in a position to do that. 

“And he probably doesn’t want to coach there anyway. So there’s industrious clubs around the comp that could create his pathway to senior coaching and fast track it.

“And I think there’s some clubs that are working that out in their model.”

Nick Riewoldt added: “His value is far greater to another club now, I think, than what it is to Collingwood. What more can Collingwood wring out of Scott Pendlebury?”

Hutchison highlighted North Melbourne as a potential options, even suggesting the club anoint Pendlebury as the next senior coach in a succession plan.

Alastair Clarkson is currently contracted until the end of 2027.

“Just use the cap as the means to pay him to play. He’ll be a very good insurance player for a club anyway,” Hutchison continued.

“The one that should cast their mind to it ... Alastair Clarkson, he’d get another year. Alastair’s best chance to get one more year is to go and create the two-year succession plan.

“So Scott’s coming in, he’s going to play for two years. He’s going to learn how to coach in real time, and he’ll take over from Clarkson. And as if North wouldn’t extend (Clarkson) for that.

“There will be clubs who want to get better. We saw Geelong a year ago get really industrious on how to get Nathan Buckley in, as if Scott Pendlerby’s not in the frame to be creatively working into a club, providing he’s prepared to go on a list.”

Kane Cornes cautioned the Kangaroos of getting another experienced player, but backed the idea if it was mainly for coaching.

“Provided you sell it to a playing group that it’s majority coaching. They don’t need another Caleb Daniel. They don’t need another Jack Darling. They don’t need another Luke Parker. They’ve tried it,” he said.

“But on-field he’s not going to do much.”