AFL 2021: How Geelong got its star forwards to gel

Jeremy Cameron was awarded a perfect ten in the AFL Coaches Association Award by Chris Scott and Ken Hinkley after kicking five goals against Port Adelaide

Jeremy Cameron is in career-best form with Geelong Picture: Getty Images

Geelong’s gambit to secure Jeremy Cameron from the Giants has resulted the Coleman medallist performing at his potent best as he settles into his new home.

The 28-year-old was devastating against Port Adelaide last Thursday when kicking five goals and shapes as a key player in Friday night’s clash against the Western Bulldogs in Geelong.

Cameron, who kicked three last-quarter goals against the Power, received a perfect ten in the coaches votes from Chris Scott and Ken Hinkley for his deeds.

The Giants leading goalkicker in all nine seasons with the club, he is averaging a career high 3.3 goals to date in his seven matches with Geelong ahead of a clash on Friday that may yet feature a crowd.

It is a rate marginally higher than his deeds in 2019 when he was an All Australian for the second time and also claimed the Coleman Medal for the first time.

Cameron, who was traded to Geelong for three first round draft picks last November, would be leading this year’s Coleman Medal race based on his current output had he played every game.

Carlton forward Harry McKay, who announced a contract extension of two years on Tuesday, is averaging 3.2 goals per match and has booted 38 goals in a career-best season.

Rejuvenated Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker trails McKay in the Coleman Medal race by one goal, with Josh Bruce, Jack Riewoldt and Ben King other forwards to kick at least 30 goals.

The ability of the left-footed Cameron to develop a synergy with fellow Coleman medallist Tom Hawkins in the Geelong forward line was always going to be critical to the Cats hopes in 2021.

A hamstring injury delayed Cameron’s debut as a Cat but Scott said the partnership between the two stars was “coming along nicely” and other forwards including Gary Rohan are benefiting as well.

“Given the injury, we were really optimistic we could build (the relationship) quickly through the pre-season, but Jeremy had a few issues and he missed the first month with that,” he said.

“What was I expecting? I’m not really sure. It is hard to forecast these things, but we knew that if we did get them together for long enough, with the calibre of our assistant coaches, we could put a pretty cohesive group together.”

Hawkins has kicked 29 goals and continues to excel at setting up opportunities for his teammates to contribute on the scoreboard.

His selflessness is exemplary. The 32-year-old ranks seventh in terms of goal assists in the competition this year and fourth in terms of total score involvements.

But Cameron, too, is assisting his teammates when it comes to hitting the scoreboard. He sits fifth in terms of score involvements across the competition this year despite playing only seven games.

Scott said that, if anything, he might need to remind the pair of the importance of kicking goals if the opportunity is there rather than trying to be too selfless.

“They are both enthused about the football they can play together and we are fortunate in a way that neither of them have an ego which means they prioritise their own performance over the other,” he said.

“If anything, from what we have seen, we have to make sure they don’t become too conscious of each other. I think the mindset is a good one. It is noble one. They feel that if the other plays well, they are going to end up playing in a pretty good team.

“They do a lot of the boring work during the week for those moments in big games where he can deliver.”

The Cats decision to recruit Cameron along with fellow 30-something stars Isaac Smith and Shaun Higgins ensured they would be in the mix for a premiership this season if all three performed.

Nathan Buckley touched on the recruiting strategy and what it meant for the Magpies when announcing his resignation as Collingwood coach last week.

He noted the Cats had pulverised Collingwood in a semi-final last year, yet were adding three high-class players to their list, admittedly stars with shorter-term value given their age.

At the same time, the Magpies were about to lose some quality performers due to a salary cap squeeze, which saw Adam Treloar, Jaidyn Stephenson and Tom Phillips exit the club.

Similarly to Cameron, the former Hawk Smith and ex-Kangaroo Higgins have adjusted well to their new surroundings.

This is scarcely surprising given their football nous and the fact they were recruited to fill specific spots. Both sit in Geelong’s top ten based on player ratings averages this year.