Star duo Cam Guthrie and Jeremy Cameron tie for Carji Greeves Medal
Only four players this century had won multiple Geelong best-and-fairests while playing as midfielders. And Cam Guthrie has now been added to that list.
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Geelong star Cam Guthrie says he is “thrilled” to be listed alongside four of the club’s greatest modern midfielders after collecting his second Carji Greeves Medal.
Guthrie tied with star forward Jeremy Cameron in Thursday night’s enthralling count, adding a second medal alongside his 2020 best-and-fairest.
Since 2000, just Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield (both three-time winners), Gary Ablett Jr and Joel Corey have won multiple Geelong best-and-fairests while playing as pure midfielders.
Guthrie has played with all four of those champion Cats and he said it was an honour to be named alongside them.
“(They are) four teammates who I loved my time playing with,” the premiership Cat said.
“Joel Corey was a bit of an on and off-field mentor in my early days and a superstar, someone who I really respect.
“I kind of caught the end of Gaz’s career and to be able to say I played with Gary Ablett is probably a career highlight for me. I love the way Patty plays his footy, I admire the way he goes about it on and off the field. And Joel, the way people spoke about him (after he announced his retirement), he deserves that and more.
“All of those guys I am thrilled to mentioned alongside.”
A second Carji Greeves Medal continued a stunning career peak for Guthrie, who was also named an All-Australian in 2020 and has been Geelong’s best midfielder over the past three seasons.
He said he felt like “I didn’t play too many bad games” in 2022 and has thrived over the past few years in a specific role as a midfield bull.
“I feel like I am at a time in my career where I am really clear on what I want to do,” he said.
“I have always had great people around me and people who want me to succeed. I feel like as a Geelong player everything we do is set up to get the best out of ourselves so over 12 years, I think that all leads to nights like tonight.”
Like most of his flag teammates, Guthrie wore his premiership medal to the best-and-fairest and said while the Carji Greeves win was “very special”, the flag was “what our group wanted to achieve”.
A popular joint-winner, Cameron told the room on Thursday night that he plays footy because of the friendships he gets out of it.
“I play the game because it is so much fun, it is enjoyable with my mates and you make memories that last a lifetime,” he said.
“And I am looking forward to the reunions.”
Guthrie and Cameron tie for Carji honour
Cam Guthrie has franked his status as one of Geelong’s best modern midfielders by claiming his second Carji Greeves Medal, tying with superstar forward Jeremy Cameron in a thrilling count.
The tireless onballer and the magical goalkicker couldn’t be split during the best-and-fairest count on Thursday night, with both finishing the night on 113 votes.
The dead heat marked the first tie in a Geelong best-and-fairest since 2009, when Gary Ablett Jr and Corey Enright were joint winners.
The only other tie in club history came in 1939 when Jack Grant and Leo Dean shared the honour.
The winners were closely followed by Mark Blicavs (104 votes), with Tom Hawkins (98) and Tyson Stengle (97) rounding out the top five.
Guthrie won the award in 2020, putting him alongside modern midfielders like Ablett and Joel Corey as two-time medallists, with Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield (three each) the only pure onballers this century to have won more.
The hard-nosed centreman averaged 24.5 disposals, five tackles and 2.9 inside-50s as Geelong’s most consistent and reliable midfielder.
It has been an outstanding rise for Guthrie, who stepped up to become a centre bounce regular in 2020 and has since been the club’s best engine room player.
The win was also Cameron’s second club best-and-fairest, having won the Kevin Sheedy Medal as GWS’ top player in 2013.
Having worked through persistent hamstring injuries that dogged his debut season with Geelong, the smooth left-footer was arguably the AFL’s most dominant player in 2022.
While he was just pipped by Hawkins in the club’s goalkicking count, Cameron’s ability to get up the ground and engaged in play, while charging forward to boot goals was a driving force in Geelong’s premiership year.
Guthrie and Cameron join Ablett (2007 and 2009) and Enright (2009 and 2011) as Geelong players to win the Carji Greeves Medal in a premiership year this century.
By finishing in the top five, Stengle rounded out a remarkable first season at Geelong, having been signed by the Cats off the scrap heap after being delisted by Adelaide.
His incredible year included an All-Australian honour, as he finished with 53 goals, including four in the grand final.
Rising defender Sam De Koning took out the club’s best young player award and indomitable midfielder Tom Atkins was handed the Tom Harley Best Clubman award.
Skipper Joel Selwood picked up the final accolade of his glorious career, claiming the Carter Family Community Champion award.
Originally published as Star duo Cam Guthrie and Jeremy Cameron tie for Carji Greeves Medal
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