GWS coach Leon Cameron may have dispelled uncertainty over his Giants future

GWS Giants coach Leon Cameron has answered his critics with a couple of masterclass performances to help lead his side to the preliminary final.

Leon Cameron’s team has come from sixth to a preliminary final. Pic: Getty Images

Leon Cameron started this finals series a man under pressure, but after two wins the GWS coach may already be on the verge of a speedy contract extension.

Executing back-to-back coaching masterclasses against the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane is certainly a good way to get any monkey off the back, but Giants players are bemused why Cameron — still uncontracted beyond next year — was facing scrutiny in the first place.

GWS will on Saturday night contest their fourth straight finals series and third preliminary final, while superstar players like Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelly continue to re-sign to play under Cameron’s coaching.

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Leon Cameron had Toby Greene’s back this week — and after the semi-final win over Brisbane. Pic: Getty Images

Yet in the lead-up to September, Cameron’s game plans were put under a searing microscope by critics, as Giants’ board member Jimmy Bartel raised eyebrows on the eve of the club’s first final against the Bulldogs by inferring the entire football department would be reviewed should GWS make a middle-of-the-road exit.

Although chief executive Dave Matthews reportedly responded by sending an email out to GWS staff stressing there would be no formal review, the untimely and premature comments from Bartel appeared to lay bare a certain restlessness at the club that was bubbling beneath the surface.

Cameron comes off contract at the end of next year, but regardless of what happens against Collingwood at the MCG, Giants players have delivered a compelling case for why a new offer should be swiftly put on the table.

“Boys are re-signing with the club the way it is. We finished sixth this year and apparently Leon is under pressure,” Josh Kelly told The Daily Telegraph in an interview before the first final.

“We never try and look too much into those kinds of things … I love playing for Leon. He is an outstanding coach.”

If GWS beat Collingwood on the biggest stage without their two most influential players Toby Greene and Lachie Whitfield, it will go down as one of the greatest finals upsets in history. Should they fall short, Cameron arguably deserves a new contract just so he has the chance to show what he could do when he has a full complement at his disposal.

Josh Kelly: “We finished sixth this year and apparently Leon is under pressure.” Pic: AAP

Senior figure Heath Shaw said everyone at the club from coaches to players knew they were coming into this finals series under pressure, but declared Cameron handled that heat as proficiently as anyone could.

“I think Leon has had pressure on him for a fair few years in terms of leading this team towards a premiership. With all the talent we’ve got and everything we’ve been given (people say) a premiership is the bare minimum,” said Shaw, before the finals.

“But you do forget there are 17 other teams that want to win a premiership and this is our fourth year in a row we’ve played finals which is a pretty good feat in itself.

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“He’s only got one year left on his contract so pressure comes on anyone who has only got one year left on their contract, who hasn’t reached where they want to get to.

“Leon has handled that really well and he always has and the team is right behind him.”

GWS are the only AFL team to have won a finals match in every one of the past four seasons, and last week’s triumph over Brisbane at the Gabba was proof they can win clutch matches away.

Unless Cameron is being judged on the achievements of Hawthorn’s master coach Alastair Clarkson, his record would appear to stand up against any mentor in the competition, even if there is to be no grand final for GWS in a week’s time.

Originally published as GWS coach Leon Cameron may have dispelled uncertainty over his Giants future