Collingwood veteran Steele Sidebottom will retire at the end of the season.

It’s understood Sidebottom informed his teammates on Thursday afternoon that season 2026 — his 18th at the top level — will be his last.

This Saturday night will be Sidebottom’s 374th game at the top level. Only 12 players are ahead of him on the all-time list. 

While the Magpies are comfortable with the veteran’s decision, those who know Sidebottom best have maintained for two years that he would not depart the game kicking and screaming.

Ultimately, Collingwood gave the two-time premiership player the space to make the decision himself. 

The 35-year-old’s career is littered with accolades. His 35th and 36th games were grand finals (due to the famous draw of 2010 and replay), but he saved his best football for the pinnacle of Nathan Buckley’s coaching tenure.

In 2017 he won his first Copeland Trophy.

And in 2018 — a year in which the Magpies fell agonisingly short of the premiership — he made it two best-and-fairest awards in two years and was named on the wing in the All-Australian team. 

He was also awarded with the Gary Ayres Medal in 2018 for the player of the finals, finishing only behind Tom Mitchell in the Brownlow Medal, and notched two Anzac Day best-on-ground performances across his career.

But his crowning moment was saved for his twilight years.

As the clock ticked into red time of the 2023 grand final, Sidebottom was awarded a 50 metre penalty after Jarrod Berry tackled him following a mark on the wing.

With Berry standing on the 50 metre arc and Collingwood leading by four points, the then 32-year-old flushed a long bomb. 

It would be the Magpies last score as they held off Brisbane for another famous flag.

The first person to embrace him was Scott Pendlebury, who he played alongside in all four grand final appearances. 

It’s understood Craig McRae has decided to rest Sidebottom this year instead of playing him in the VFL, so that his near-ambidextrous veteran is cherry-ripe for another premiership tilt.