IF IT WAS up to the Melbourne faithful, Cam Pedersen would’ve been in the side earlier in the season.

Pedersen has somewhat of a cult following among the red and blue fans, and many of them, particularly on social media, have been arguing for the tall utility to be recalled, particularly with the club’s spate of recent injuries.

The recently-turned 30-year-old said he was appreciative of the support, but added that he wanted to repay all associated with the club, when he plays his first game of the season against Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

“It is nice to have that support from the fans. When you play football, you want to be remembered as a hard worker who gave everything,” he told melbournefc.com.au.  

“I think that’s what the supporters must like – they know that when I go out there, they know I’m going to give it a really good crack.

“I know I’m not the best player on the list or in the AFL, but they know I’ll give everything I have, every time I play.”

Pedersen said coach Simon Goodwin, player/coach performance manager Brendan McCartney and Casey Demons coach Justin Plapp had all worked closely with him in recent times, which had helped him return to the side.  

“They just said ‘you’ve got to play the right way and there will be a time when you’re needed, and you need to be ready, when it’s your time’. It’s panned out that way,” he said.

“By turning your heels up and getting shitty with the situation you’re in – it doesn’t do anyone any favours. You’ve got to keep working and trying to improve.

“Everyone wants to get picked because they’ve deserved to be picked – not because someone is injured. You want to earn your spot.”

During the pre-season, Pedersen said a tough conversation with Goodwin and McCartney helped set him on the path for 2017.   

After having shoulder surgery at the end of last season, Pedersen was told to drop some weight or risk his career. He dropped at least 10kg and now weighs 93kg, as he takes up the story.

“I had my shoulder done and came into the club twice a week for the first month and then had a month of teaching rounds, which made it hard to come in and see the physios,” Pedersen, who is training to become a teacher, said.  

“Eventually [I] got the all clear to run, about three weeks before we started back. I came back pretty raw and a bit heavy because of my shoulder – and I wasn’t able to run or do much off legs, besides sitting on the bike, so I put on a few kilos.

“I had an honest conversation with Brendan McCartney and Goody and they said that if I didn’t drop down to the weight they wanted, then I wouldn’t put a jumper on at VFL or AFL level, so they said ‘there is your challenge’.

“I took that on board and went on a pretty extreme diet, and the fitness staff gave me six extra off legs [sessions] that wouldn’t affect my training. I then got the all clear before the pre-season camp in Queensland.”

Pedersen said it was “pretty confronting” to hear those words from the coaches at the time.

“Nobody wants to hear those things, but they were good in the way they said it and it was the expectation,” he said.

“They said ‘We are here to help you, and we want you to get there as soon as you can, because you are in important part of the team’.

“Goody said he hadn’t seen anybody do that before, which was a nice little pat on the back. He said I just had to worry trying to be the best player I could be and hopefully this is going to help me play better and help the team.”

Pedersen, who has played 61 AFL games, including 16 with North Melbourne from 2011-12 and 45 with Melbourne since 2013, acknowledged it was frustrating not being in the side from round one. But he was genuinely pleased to see his team win its first couple of games and watch several teammates make an impact.  

The forward/ruckman, who has also played down back during this career, said he now adopted the mindset that every game could be his last.  

“It’s been good to see the boys play some good football – they’ve been working hard and it’s disappointing to see them not get the rewards. But at the start of the year, my form didn’t warrant me playing,” he said.

“The coaches put a process in place for me to refine my game and what makes me a good player. In the last three weeks or so, that’s given me a lot of confidence that I’m in and playing well and in good form – and I’m not just the last resort. That’s the way I look at it.

“Now I’ve got my chance and now I’m getting a bit older, you never know when your last game is. I’m going to give everything I’ve got.”