Ex-AFL man Cameron Pedersen makes a happy home at Phillip Island
The former Kangaroo and Demon met 25 clubs after leaving the AFL but he eventually became an Island Bulldog and had a memorable first season in the West Gippsland league, winning medals and getting to sing Sweet Caroline after every match.
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Cameron Pedersen had no shortage of suitors when he retired from the AFL at the end of 2018.
After coming off Melbourne’s list, he met 25 clubs, from the VFL to the Eastern league to the amateurs.
There was a lot of talking and a lot of offers.
In the end, he opted to play much closer to his new home.
Pedersen and his wife, Sarah, and their three daughters had relocated to Cowes at Phillip Island, and he became a Bulldog.
In fact, they all became Bulldogs as he quickly gained an appreciation for the club, its family focus and its standing in the community.
As a schoolteacher at Newhaven College, he’s very much part of it.
Ask Pedersen, 33, what he enjoyed about joining the Island as an assistant coach in 2019 and he’ll say it was as much the social side of the game as the playing of it.
“Great club environment,’’ he said. “Everyone is there for the right reasons, because they love football and contributing to the club.
“You get that sense of belonging. You’ve got to move your house and next thing you’ve got 10 blokes helping you. There’s that family atmosphere, just enjoying each other’s company, having a drink back at the clubrooms.’’
Unsurprisingly, there was great success for him in his first year as a Bulldog.
The Island were back-to-back premiers, going through undefeated under coach Beau Vernon; Pedersen won the club best and fairest; and he polled a remarkable 38 votes to bolt off with the West Gippsland league medal. Teammate Brendan Kimber was second.
“Couldn’t ask for much more than that,’’ he said. “Lucky to get involved with a great bunch of boys.’’
Phillip Island president Chris Ross said: “It was actually a pleasure to sit back and watch him. The coaches wanted him to play more forward but he kept playing in the ruck. He loves that physical contact.’’
The Bulldogs like to croon Sweet Caroline after they sing the club song, and by the end of the season Pedersen knew every line of the Neil Diamond classic. The good times never seemed so good.
There were good times for him in the AFL too, but it was never easy.
Pedersen emerged from the VFL, flourishing at Box Hill Hawks after switching from basketball.
North Melbourne drafted him as a rookie and he played 16 matches for the Roos from 2011-12. Then it was on to Melbourne, where over six seasons he played another 64 games.
Whenever he played in the VFL as an AFL-listed player, both at Werribee and Casey, he dominated.
“It’s not all what it’s made up to be, the AFL,’’ Pedersen said.
“There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of stress. I liked playing VFL because I guess that’s where I felt more at home and could play well every week. I enjoyed the atmosphere in the VFL.
“Sometimes I felt I was a little bit stiff not to get (AFL) games. I could play at a high standard but I would have liked to do it more consistently instead of having those fluctuations.
“I could get frustrated. It’s a tough situation to be in because you want people to play well but then you could lose your spot. You’re happy for them but then you’re frustrated for yourself … and you start to think, ‘Why is he playing when I’m playing better football?’ It can consume you a little bit.
“Looking back, the coaches keep telling you, ‘You just worry about your game and everything you can control and everything else will look after itself’. Probably if I had more of that mindset it would have led to less anxiety and worrying about things I couldn’t control.’’
Still, Pedersen is proud he spent eight years in league football. “Not many people get to do it, and I had some great times,’’ he said. “The best part was after a win and sitting down with the boys and singing the song.’’
He had to wait for his third game to do it with the Kangaroos after he’d made his debut against West Coast in Perth in 2011. He was picked as a forward but Todd Goldstein pulled out of the team with a fever and Pedersen had to ruck against one of the best big men in football, Dean Cox.
It showed his versatility from the start: he could fill the key positions at both ends of the ground and ruck if required.
Pedersen would have liked to finish at Box Hill Hawks, “but there would have been too much driving and there’s not much of a family atmosphere at VFL clubs, it’s more about performance’’.
Ross knows it was the club’s lucky day when it secured the 80-game AFL player.
He tells the story of how Pedersen joined the social committee soon after arriving at the Bulldogs, telling Ross and others, “You guys have got enough to do’’.
COVID-19 grounded senior football this year, but the Island Under 18 team did get in a handful of games.
Pedersen volunteered as team runner, and also helped with junior teams.
“His impact on our club has been incredible, it really has,’’ Ross said.
Pedersen and his wife are relishing life on the Island with daughters Charlee, Ruby and Lucy (they have another daughter on the way).
“It’s fantastic,’’ he said. “During summer you finish work at 3.30 and then you head straight down to the beach. Everyone’s really nice. Everyone knows each other. Everyone supports each other. It’s a good little community.’’
Pedersen is locked in again for next season, when the Bulldogs will chase a “three-peat’’. He plans to play until “as long as I feel I can’t play well and impact the game’’.
“As soon as I start dropping off and people start running away from me, or not able to be one of the best players or the best player, I’ll go into coaching,’’ he said.
“I’m not one of those guys who’ll play until he’s 40 and just hang on. I’m too competitive for that.’’