CAM Pedersen says he “definitely” feels as though he’s playing for his position every week, but is determined to keep pushing hard and doing his role for the team each time he dons the red and blue.
Pedersen, who was one of Melbourne’s best against Collingwood at the MCG last round, after starring the previous week for Casey, said he gained confidence from the performance. But he knows he needs to keep backing up every time he plays.
“The whole career has been a bit of a roller-coaster, so I’m not one who can’t give 100 per cent every week,” he told Melbourne TV.
“As long as I’m playing with speed and intensity, I’ll stay in the team.”
Pedersen, who had 20 touches, five marks and kicked two goals against the Pies, said he was still building and developing his game.
“I’m working really hard on getting back to the contest and getting to as many contests as I can,” he said.
“The good thing with the club at the moment is that if you don’t play your role, there are people to come and play your role.
“It happened for me in round three. I played well [for Casey] and got back in [last round], so hopefully now I can build some consistency in the team.”
Pedersen said he was relishing the opportunity to play with an exciting forward line, consisting of talls Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts and Sam Frost, along with several smaller types.
“Working with Hoges and Frosty has been good and Dean Kent has had a couple of good weeks and we’ll probably get Jeffy [Garlett] back this week, which will mean a bit more speed,” he said.
“Ben Kennedy has also been playing really well, and the good thing is that [Aaron] vandenBerg might come back soon and [Sam] Weideman is playing really well in the twos, so we’ve got a lot of depth.
“As a forward line, we worked really well together [against Collingwood]. We put a lot of forward pressure on and kept the ball in our half. We got a lot more inside 50s and I just tried to play my role and get to as many contests as I could.
“It was good to see Wattsy play so well and Hoges chipped in and everyone played their role.”