By Marc McGowan
Jeremy Cameron is an entertainer – and an incredibly skilled one at that.
The man the Giants demanded three first-round picks to part with four years ago ignited Geelong’s hit-and-run qualifying final mission at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night with one of the most spectacular goals in September history.
So, how did he do it? And what was so special about it?
Cameron was in the wrong pocket for a left-footer, 40 metres out, barely inside the boundary, and about to wear a bump from Port Adelaide defender Aliir Aliir. He was facing away from the goals, with only a split-second look at them. Somehow, Cameron managed to thread the needle with a jaw-dropping snap.
Then there was the context of the match.
The Cats went on to post a crushing 84-point victory that propelled them into a 13th preliminary final in 18 years, with Cameron finishing with an equal-match-high four goals.
But at that point the first match of the 2024 finals series was up for grabs, and the contest was hot. As Cameron spread his arms, Eddie Betts-style, to soak up the adulation, teammate Gryan Miers stood behind him with both hands on his head and mouth wide in amazement at what he’d just witnessed.
How the footy world reacted
“He could not possibly!” Channel Seven commentator Alister Nicholson marvelled after Cameron’s miraculous kick as the Sherrin made a beeline for the goals. But, yes, Cameron could.
Former Geelong captain Joel Selwood, who played alongside Cameron in the Cats’ grand final triumph two years ago, then set about convincing viewers the brilliant forward’s goal – Geelong’s second of the night before the Power scored – had equal doses of skill as fortune.
“I would love to say that’s a fluke, but I’ve just seen it on so many occasions. He does that, and he eats it for breakfast,” Selwood said.
Even Jeremy Cameron’s teammates were in awe of his skill.Credit: AFL Photos
Triple M caller James Brayshaw was typically effusive, telling Cameron, and all of us: “Piss off, you can’t be doing that in a final.” AFL Nation’s Dwayne Russell dubbed it a “monster goal” before ex-Port great Kane Cornes asked, “It’s not supposed to bend that way, is it?”
The ABC Sport team even described Cameron’s extraordinary effort as “wizardry”. Social media was awash with memes, plus “Him” and “freak” acclamations.
Like Miers, coach Chris Scott was stunned. In the coach’s box, all the tension of the start of a finals campaign was released as he broke into a wide grin.
Finals debutant Shaun Mannagh wondered post-match whether Cameron could still win goal of the year after the home-and-away season. Alas, the answer is no.
“We’re very lucky to have some incredible players,” Mannagh told this masthead.
“Tyson [Stengle] did that against North Melbourne from the other side, and Gryan kicked one against Fremantle from the same pocket. There have been a fair few from our boys, so hopefully one of them can win it.
“With ‘Jez’ [Cameron], Shannon Neale and Ollie Henry; all we [small forwards] have got to do is be in front of the ball, or over the back, and try to finish our work.”
Scott suggested post-match Cameron’s first-quarter igniter may have been a decisive factor in tipping the scales in the Cats’ favour while the contest was alive.
“For a long time, I’ve been a big believer that to do good things, you need a bit of luck,” Scott said.
“Now, I see him at training, and we’ve seen him play long enough that it’s not all luck, but you need some things to go your way. He’s an unbelievably skilled player, and we depend on him, obviously … the guys who haven’t been there [finals] before – you’re not human if you’re not thinking, ‘I wonder how this is going to go?’ So when one of your best players slots one from the boundary line early in the game, it is a bit calming.
“I don’t believe in this stuff, but if it’s edging towards being our night or their night, it kind of helps a little bit.”
But wait, there’s more ...
Anyone Selwood could not convince about Cameron’s sublime skills was persuaded by night’s end because the 646-goal champion refused to kick a straightforward major for the rest of the final.
Cameron’s second goal came after accepting a Patrick Dangerfield handball, shaking off a slight fumble, tapping the ball into his path on the run before he slotted a dribbling check side special.
Nicholson was on hand for that one, too: “What about Cameron for another ridiculously good finish? What a goal, Jeremy Cameron!”
Cameron was pretty pleased with his work as well, even if a bespectacled Power fan in the process of giving the Cats star a gobful over the fence was less so. Cameron cheekily pointed in his direction as the celebration began.
This was the third Cats goal in a four-minute blitz on the tick of half-time that opened a gap Port Adelaide could never close despite Connor Rozee producing some brilliance of his own in response.
Cameron was back at it on the fringes of time-on in the last quarter, pinching the Sherrin out of traffic with his right hand before spinning around and putting through a skied snap on the run that was every bit as good as his dribbling feat.
Then, to top his night off, Cameron blasted through a gun-barrel set shot from outside 50 to show off his leg power.
On an unexpectedly dominant night for Geelong, one man with the initials JC – not to be confused with Jesus Christ – stood above the rest.
With Steve Barrett
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