GWS forward Jeremy Cameron says Ian ‘Bobby’ Hill is keeping spirits high at the Giants

It has been a tough few weeks for the Giants. But the infectious enthusiasm of Ian Hill, coupled with the attitude of Jeremy Cameron has the club confident it will turn things around sooner rather than later.

Jeremy Cameron hasn’t lost his sense of humour as he looks to fire the Giants out of their slump.

And he points to the infectious enthusiasm of pocket rocket Ian ‘Bobby’ Hill as a key factor in keeping spirits high and the opposition nervous.

Although he still leads the race for the Coleman Medal with 48 goals (five ahead of North Melbourne’s Ben Brown) he hasn’t been quite as prolific in recent weeks.

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He has 10 goals in his last five outings, hardly a disgrace, but only one of those games has resulted in a Giants win.

“I took a few weeks off there for a while, didn’t I,” he joked. “But my body feels really good. This time last year I was sitting out for five games and I was really disappointed with that. To play every game so far has been great for me and hopefully I can continue that.

“I feel like I’ve developed a little bit each year. In previous years I’ve let myself down with suspensions and stuff but I just want to play a full season, make finals and you never know what can happen from there.”

Cameron is not afraid to address criticism with the Giants’ talls accused in some quarters of not generating enough tackle pressure.

Ian Hill made an instant impact for the Giants. Picture: Getty Images

“I don’t think that’s unfair at all,” he said. “Personally I’ve been a little bit disappointed with that area of my game. It’s an area I want to improve in.”

Next up is Collingwood on Saturday and another tough assignment for the Giants as they battle to keep their place in the eight. But that’s fine with Cameron.

“You really find out where you’re at against the better sides and our run at the moment is a really challenging one,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to the challenge. I wish we were playing tomorrow.”

While injuries to Stephen Coniglio, Zac Langdon and Matt Flynn have hurt the club, last week’s debut for youngster Hill is a huge positive for Cameron.

The 19-year-old bagged three goals on his debut against Richmond last week. The match ended in defeat but there was no wiping the smile off his face.

“Bobby is so exciting,” Cameron said. “We’ve seen what he’s been able to do at training and in the NEAFL, he catches the eye. He got a bit of a taste of it (last week) and I’m sure he wants more.

“It (the enthusiasm) does rub off on all the other players. When we let him know he was playing, the excitement you could see in his eyes. His speed and natural flair has been awesome.

Jeremy Cameron has slowed down after his dominant start to the season. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“When you look over and he’s still smiling when you’re down by 25 points it does get you up and it’s awesome to see someone enjoying their football so much.”

Cameron also praised the work of another small forward in Brent Daniels and added:

“As a forward line we’re really dynamic and give different looks to the opposition.”

And back to the question of the Coleman Medal, Cameron insists it is not something he obsesses over.

“No, it’s not something I really look at, I’m more focused on what I can do and how the team’s going,” he said.

“We’ve lost three in a row and it’s something we want to turn around and turn around quickly. There’s a lot more important things I need to be focusing on.”

Originally published as GWS forward Jeremy Cameron says Ian ‘Bobby’ Hill is keeping spirits high at the Giants