The target on his back, the reported dollars on offer and the speculation are all growing.

The pool of available out-of-contract AFL players is shrinking.

But Collingwood forward Travis Cloke says he feels under no added pressure to commit to the Magpies despite star midfielder Scott Pendlebury’s new deal this week.

Forward Cloke comes out of contract at the end of 2012 and is believed to be a Greater Western Sydney target for next season.

Cloke has indicated he wants to put off talks with the Magpies until the end of the season – a similar approach to that taken by Melbourne’s Tom Scully in 2011 before he opted to ditch the Demons for the Giants.

But with coach Nathan Buckley standing alongside him at a press conference on Thursday, an at-times playful Cloke was bullish about remaining at Collingwood.

And Cloke even suggested the end-of-season timeframe he set for a decision was not set in stone if Collingwood came with the right offer.

“It’s not a certainty it gets done at the end of the year – if it gets done beforehand, it gets done,” said Cloke, who plays his 150th AFL match in the season-opener against Hawthorn at the MCG on Friday night.

“I just want to play football. If Walshy (Magpies football manager Geoff Walsh) and Bucks (coach Nathan Buckley) come to an agreement with my management, then great, it’s done beforehand and we sign it.

“Until then I’m here to play football and I’ll be focusing on that … I’m sure it will get done in due time.”

Pendlebury agreed a new four-year contract extension with the Pies earlier this week, putting to rest speculation he may be lured by a big GWS offer.

Buckley, who after several questions about Cloke’s contract status asked media to turn their focus to Friday night’s match, admitted Pendlebury’s decision would put the spotlight on other Magpies yet to do deals.

“We’ve got quite a few players that I suppose the focus will go to now, just as it did with Pendles 12 months ago,” he said.

“Clokey, Ben Reid, Steele Sidebottom, Heath Shaw, Sharrod Wellingham – for most clubs free agency, let alone GWS is going to be an issue and we know there’s going to be headlines about it.”

Buckley said Pendlebury’s new deal was just reward for his efforts over the past year.

“When you go back 12 months ago, there was some scuttlebutt and rumour about him wanting to sign a 12-month extension … he wanted to set himself the task of proving that he was the best player at the club,” Buckley said.

“Dane Swan was at that time and really, winning the Copeland Trophy (for Collingwood’s best and fairest) last year, he (Pendlebury) was able to achieve that.

“It’s good vindication for Pendles. We were very confident he was going to sign all along, and it’s a great fillip for the club.”