THEY say bad things happen in threes.
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That’s the case for Camperdown footballer Cam Spence who has strained his hamstring three times in 2016.
Camperdown took a conservative approach with the Hampden interleague representative’s rehabilitation which it hopes will pay dividends when it launches its finals campaign against Port Fairy on Sunday.
Spence, 20, has played the past three games and booted a game-high five goals in the Magpies’ final-round drubbing of Hamilton Kangaroos.
“I am feeling very confident actually,” he said.
“I am trying to do everything right and do a lot of stretches, physio and resistance training for it.
“I have strained it three times but none too serious, which has been lucky.
“The first time I did it I thought I was right and wanted to get back into it but lately I’ve played forward and not as much in the midfield, so there’s not as much workload on my hamstring.
“It was 50-50 on the weekend – Phil (Carse) and myself swapped (between forward and midfield).
“It’s not too bad up forward – it’s always good to get on the end of a few plays.”
The Camperdown Dairy worker, who is considering playing in Darwin over the summer break, said the injury setbacks were frustrating, particularly after a solid 2015 campaign netted him a senior interleague berth.
“It’s good to have Phil coach me and a lot of good players like Daniel Seehusen guide you and as soon as you get games under your belt, your confidence is sky high,” Spence said.
Carse said Spence’s importance to the Magpies was reflected in the cautious approach they’ve taken to get him at full fitness for finals.
“He’s had four or five-week spells – we gave him more than the normal three weeks,” he said.
“Each time he’s done it, he hasn’t done it too seriously but he’s a young midfielder and being the explosive player he is, he plays with speed and we wanted to get it right so there are no long-term issues.”
Carse said Spence was eased back into the Magpies’ line-up, playing forward off the bench in rounds 16 and 17 before playing at full capacity on Saturday.
The second-year coach believes Spence can have a big impact in September.
“His best football is as good as any young midfielder in the competition,” he said.
“He’s got nice skills on both sides of his body and spreads well from the contest with speed.”
Carse said Matthew Field, Lachlan Bone and Billy and Riley Arnold were other up and comers who had played crucial roles.
“Lachlan has played some electric footy this year,” he said.