GWS coach Leon Cameron earns new contract after famous preliminary win against Collingwood
Leon Cameron earned more than a Grand Final berth after the Giants’ historic victory against Collingwood with a contract extension waiting for him after the result.
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They say the best deals are done with a handshake and there’s no warmer handshake than after you have just beaten Collingwood in a preliminary final.
Leon Cameron came into this finals series conspicuously uncontracted beyond next year, but in a euphoric GWS Giants dressing room at the MCG, a pen and dotted line virtually appeared on the spot.
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Even before Saturday night’s triumph for the ages, Cameron was the only AFL coach to have won a finals game four years in a row.
Yet after the Giants fell out of the top four and finished sixth following another crippling injury toll, club bosses clearly wanted to see how the cards fell during the finals before opening any talks about the coach’s long-term future.
Three epic finals upsets later and Cameron is as safe as any coach in the competition.
Giants chairman Tony Shepherd wasted no time in declaring the mastermind behind the Western Sydney fairytale was going nowhere.
“Leon is part of our fabric,” Shepherd said.
“He’s been here from day one. He’s welded into our team and our structure.
“He’s a vital component. He will stay with us. No doubt about that. He loves this club. And he can’t go fishing on Port Phillip Bay, he only loves fishing on Sydney Harbour.”
Cameron was surprised at Sydney airport late on Saturday night by his wife Caz and three kids, who were up way past their bedtime.
Caz even had the folks at the domestic terminal blast the Giants theme song through the speakers as players and coach walked through to get their bags.
It was a special moment for all involved. But not least of all Cameron, who has carried the burden of the lofty expectations that have often unfairly been put on GWS.
Under fire for his coaching style after a shattering loss to Hawthorn late in the season, barely any credence was given to the fact GWS were missing more than half-a-dozen of their best players through injury.
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Making four straight finals series at a club that’s only existed for eight years is an extraordinary achievement in itself, but now Cameron has a shot at a premiership for the ages.
Sydney Swans coach John Longmire had his contract extended beyond next year several months ago, but Cameron has had a longer wait.
GWS board member Jimmy Bartel had insinuated a review of the football department was looming if the Giants bowed out meekly in the finals, but chief executive David Matthews suggested Cameron was never under pressure internally.
“He has galvanised this group,’’ Matthews said. “We’re rapt for him and very pleased with the coach we have.”
Originally published as GWS coach Leon Cameron earns new contract after famous preliminary win against Collingwood
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