CAM Pedersen says it’s been a “rollercoaster” ride to reach 50 AFL matches, but the in form Demon says he wouldn’t have it any other way.

The former Kangaroos will notch up his half-century against Port Adelaide at Traeger Park in Alice Springs on Saturday and said he couldn’t wait to build on his recent form.

“It has been a long journey, getting drafted at 23 and this is my second club now and it’s taken nearly four and a half years to get to 50 games, but I’m excited to get here,” he told Dee TV.

“It’s been a rollercoaster. There has been a lot of good and a lot of not so good things. The family has ridden the wave with me as well and it’s still been exciting and pretty stressful and it keeps you on your toes.

“I wouldn’t change it for anything, but I’m just looking forward to this weekend and hopefully getting another win. Hopefully I can start to cement my spot and get a few more games under my belt as well.”

Having kicked six goals in his past two matches – two bags of three – Pedersen was optimistic he was starting to play his best football of his career.

“The last few weeks, I’ve had a pretty good impact on the games and I thought the Freo game wasn’t too bad either,” he said.

“Although my age says I’m getting old, my body still feels pretty good and I still do every session.

“I’ll be one of the first out and one of the last off the track, so I’m like Crossy (Daniel Cross), and I’m very durable.”

Pedersen has played the past four matches, although he was a late call-up for the clash against the Hawks, when he replaced Hogan. He was one of Melbourne’s best on a miserable day, yet he started that day thinking he was playing for Casey against Port Melbourne.

“I got the call at about 10.15am and I was getting ready to drive to Port Melbourne and Roosy rang me and said ‘do you want to play at Port Melbourne or at the ‘G’,” he said.

“I said ‘I like bigger ovals, so I’ll play at the ‘G’.

“I played all right that game and I just got a clear defined role of what they expect and I just tried to carry that out to the best of my ability.”

Despite being one of the more senior members of the team, in terms of age, Pedersen said he was still “working really hard on improving my game”.

“People already know that I can mark the ball, but it’s what I’m doing when I don’t have the ball, because if you have the ball 30 times in a game, you only hold the ball in your hands for about three minutes of the game, so there is still 117 minutes – so what are you doing?” he said.

“I’ve been working really hard on defensive things and getting back to the contest and trying to outnumber and develop my game.”

Pedersen said he was enjoying his current role as a forward/pinch-hitting ruckman, despite having also played down back in his career.

“Playing down there with Hoges (Jesse Hogan), Dawesy (Chris Dawes), Howey (Jeremy Howe) last weekend and it’s great having Jeffy (Jeff Garlett) there,” he said.

“I love going into the ruck and going up against bigger guys and I’m a bit more mobile, so it gives you a chance if you’re not doing so well forward to get into the game.

“The more contests you can get to – the more likelihood of having an impact on the game.”