Has Pederson ever played down back?

Those of you with eyes on the VFL might be able to Illuminate us all. I've only seen him forward and on the ball.

He played down back once (or twice?) during the NAB Cup and it was the most comfortable I've seen him.

Has Pederson ever played down back?

Those of you with eyes on the VFL might be able to Illuminate us all. I've only seen him forward and on the ball.

Played there with Casey a few weeks or so back, played well enough to get back up as a forward. Go figure.

Great signing for Casey! He gives them depth as run of the mill VFL tall utility for both their Reserves and Senior team. Obviously not good enough for AFL level already being 25 years old, but he goes ok at local level and even makes the bests in the VFL every few months.

Oh wait it's 3 years with the Melbourne Football Club??!? Oh dear.....

Kelly O'Donnell and Tim Harrington are surely 2 of the first out the door if Peter Jackson is wanting to rejuvinate the football department.

still defending the cale Morton recruitment no doubt...

still defending the cale Morton recruitment no doubt...

Craig Cameron recruited Morton in 2007.

I made the following comments back in October last year in regards to the Pedersen trade and was criticised by a few. It summarised my thoughts on the decision (and still does).

So we trade a young midfielder with obvious talent and a knack of finding the footy for a tall player who couldn't get a game at North when we have just spent big money on a key forward from Collingwood, swapped pick 3 for the best 17-year-old key forward in the country and currently have one of the worst midfields in the competition.

I think Pederson can play but this is an absolutely astonishing short-sighted piece of business.

I just don't think Gysberts has been given enough time given his injuries and lack of body size and I also think he wasn't given as many opportunities as other players who showed far less in their time at Casey.

I'm not saying he's the next big thing, but I have seen that he has certain talents that are worth persevering with and given the state of our midfield I think a young player with a knack of finding the footy is someone you would want to try to develop.

To then trade him for another key forward – I don't quite understand it. We have Mitch Clark, Chris Dawes and Jesse Hogan. You cannot have more than three talls in your forward line. So I'm just thinking what role Pederson is going to play in a few years' time when Hogan should be ready to play. Pederson is not better than Mitch Clark, and if he keeps Dawes out of the team then we have overpaid on Dawes.

So for me the short-sightedness of the decision is in getting a mature KPF who could play next year but at this point in time is questionable whether he would make our best 22 in a few years' time at the expense of a young developing midfielder who could add something to the midfield group for many years.

But feel free to argue that trading a 21 year old for a 26 year old is not a decision for the short term.

Edited May 18, 201312 yr by Scoop Junior

I made the following comments back in October last year in regards to the Pedersen trade and was criticised by a few. It summarised my thoughts on the decision (and still does).

But there was "rumours" about Gysbters, and he was "too skinny" and blah blah blah...

Werribee are playing him with success on the wing, he will develop for North and we'll be left with Potatosen.

What will that goal do for his confidence....fantastic

I think the 2nd, 3rd efforts that kept the ball in our 50 and iirc gave us a shot on goal should lift him more than a flukey goal.

We'll be a better side when he is not in our starting 22, that's for sure.

What will that goal do for his confidence....fantastic

Hopefully he can share that confidence with all the boys at Casey.

Good effort today but can't wait for Garland and Hogan to come in.

He's been a valuable contributor on the backline. Despite that goal he is not a forward.

We'll be a better side when he is not in our starting 22, that's for sure.

Yes, but credit where credit is due, he has looked a different player the last two weeks, and good on him.

Loved his effort today, was great to see.

Kept churning out the 1%ers even when his other efforts were falling in a heap. Didn't drop his effort.

Gotta respect that. Really pleased that he's had a bit of visible good performance.

One of the better things in football, throughout the years, has been the 'ordinary' player stepping up a bit.

Every club needs depth players that come in and play a roll for the team. When Garland & Hogan come back he'll most likely find himself at Casey but give him some credit, he's been decent since going to the backline.

Possibly got a little ahead of himself with the play on in the middle of the ground but he looks so much faster in the backline. Runs to the right spots to man up and retrieve the ball and is so much more use down there.

The big concern is team balance trying to find a way for him to back up ruck whilst still playing predominantly in defense but he might provide something.

All teams suffer injuries to their key talls (ESPECIALLY this club)... so it's important to not only have Pederson types on the list, but for them to step up when required. You can see how Fitzpatrick's lack of form has hurt us for instance. Credit to Pederson for his work in the past 2 weeks. We're getting more out of him than North are getting out of Gysberts at the minute.

Pedo is a loose cannon but you cannot fault his effort.

He is just the type of player Roos likes in his armoury. Give him a specific role and stick to it.

Those at the ground lucky enough to see that Sherrin sail through to ice the game.

Enjoy. Todd Viney kicked from a similiar position to open the scoring in our first final in '87.

Never forgotten that roar......

Pedo is a loose cannon but you cannot fault his effort.

He is just the type of player Roos likes in his armoury. Give him a specific role and stick to it.

Those at the ground lucky enough to see that Sherrin sail through to ice the game.

Enjoy. Todd Viney kicked from a similiar position to open the scoring in our first final in '87.

Never forgotten that roar......

Loved the classic Pedo goal after a dropped mark. But the Nathan Jones goal in the second quarter was the epitome of a Melbourne MCC members goal.

Hopefully we put in a similar performance in weeks to come and at a home game can get a classic Melbourne Olympic/Northern stand piece of play to let the faithful erupt.

The Members wing at the G is definitely Melbourne territory even if the crowd is low it can still get plenty loud and passionate.

Loved the classic Pedo goal after a dropped mark. But the Nathan Jones goal in the second quarter was the epitome of a Melbourne MCC members goal.

Hopefully we put in a similar performance in weeks to come and at a home game can get a classic Melbourne Olympic/Northern stand piece of play to let the faithful erupt.

The Members wing at the G is definitely Melbourne territory even if the crowd is low it can still get plenty loud and passionate.

If we can get 30-40,000 sitting on the Northern side of the 'G during this year the noise will be glorious.

We have been quiet for 8 years. Time to make up....

Kept churning out the 1%ers even when his other efforts were falling in a heap. Didn't drop his effort.

Gotta respect that. Really pleased that he's had a bit of visible good performance.

One of the better things in football, throughout the years, has been the 'ordinary' player stepping up a bit.

Just watched the replay and it was a good performance by Pederson, by far his best at Melbourne.

Would have been great if he clunked that mark he flew for; as the ball was coming down towards our forward line he had his name written all over it but it just spilled out. Will he make it; don't know, but at least he seems to be a bit more interested than he was last year.

One thing we should finally have put to bed this year is that he is a defender and nothing else.

Deserves praise for rucking yesterday when we had no one else; he's not very tall and rucking is clearly not his forte, so good on him for standing up and getting the job done when Spencer needed a break.

IMO he should prove to be a handy depth player, helping fill roles when needed.