CAM Pedersen says he’s in a good place with his game and will again treat every match as if it’s his last this year.
Pedersen finished the 2017 in strong form – he gained Brownlow Medal votes in two of his last three games for the season – and played 15 of his 76 AFL matches last year. He again looms as an important member of Melbourne’s line-up this year, with his ability to play in attack and in the ruck.
“I’m 31 now, so I look at every game as my last game and how I want to be remembered. I just want to be remembered as a good teammate, whether that’s running or blocking for someone,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“It’s just little things like that, that I’m really concentrating on.”
Pedersen said he felt in a good place with his game and wanted to again be “a versatile player” in Melbourne’s 2018 line-up.
“My game’s not about kicks and marks – it’s about impacting and hitting bodies and making sure I’m getting to the right spots,” he said.
“My game’s very easy now, where it’s easy to review, whereas I used to think ‘I need 15 possessions and need to kick three goals’.
“Now it’s about tackling and chasing – things that don’t require skill – just effort-based things. I think my gap between my best games and average games have decreased, so that’s why last year I started to get a bit of continuity in my game.”
Pedersen said his 2017/18 pre-season was a little different to 2016/17.
“Last year I was in a bit of trouble for being a bit heavy, but this year I came back a little underweight,” he said.
“I had a really good off-season, before I came back for the pre-season and I’m feeling really well.
“I’ve done every session and being able to do extras on top of that really helps me to keep going. I keep telling them I’m Benjamin Button, so I feel like I’m getting faster and younger – I feel really good.”
Pedersen said he had thrived on his training this summer.
“Pre-season’s gone well. I’ve completed every session and extras, because that’s what I like to do – I’m a bit of a Clydesdale, I just like to get worked,” he said.
“I’ve been able to do every session and I’ve had no niggles or injuries, which has been good. I’ve started to get some good chemistry with Hoges (Jesse Hogan) and Tommy Mac (McDonald). We’ve also got Weides (Sam Weideman) and Smithy’s (Tim Smith) not far from coming back as well.
“Hopefully this year we’re going to see the forward line function really well and be a real strength of ours.”
