Move that launched Cameron’s career

Brisbane sensation Charlie Cameron’s AFL career that might never have been bar for a move to Western Australia

Lions sensation Charlie Cameron’s mind often drifts to the places he has been, the family he has left behind and those who have supported his remarkable journey to the biggest stages in football.

The 26-year-old, who is the AFL’s premier small forward, was born in Mt Isa. He grew up on Mornington Island, a small island in the Gulf of Carpentaria where footy was scarcely an afterthought.

While boarding at Marist College in Brisbane, his preferences were baseball and rugby instead of Australian rules.

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It was not until Cameron moved to Newman, in Western Australia, that he became enthralled by the Sherrin and he has never looked back in a career that started in Adelaide and has flourished further back in Brisbane.

“I guess for me, as a young Indigenous person, with my family up north in a remote community there, at the bottom of the Gulf of Carpentaria, it is pretty special when all your family are watching games and supporting you. You play footy for them,” he told The Australian.

“For me, growing up on a remote island in north Queensland and then moving down to Brisbane to boarding school, I think it has helped me to mature. Living away from family for the last ten years, from Year Nine to now, you get kind of used to it.

“I have had times when you miss them, when you do miss your family, but you cherish those moments where you are able to see them and I will always do that.”

Similarly to his Lions teammates, Cameron has spent much of 2020 at home in a season where the majority of matches have been played in Queensland.

It is not without its challenges, though sleeping in your own bed is clearly a luxury most footballers have had to forego this season.

Players and staff members are still restricted from regular activities such as sitting in a cafe or restaurant or, in Cameron’s case, heading out into the open land.

“It is more about going camping with family and spending time with them, that was the main thing for me,” he said.

“(I’ve not been able to do that) enough, with the restrictions this year, but I am looking forward to doing it when I am out of the bubble.”

Cameron’s clear priorities at the moment are helping Brisbane’s premiership push, which continues with the preliminary final against Geelong at the Gabba on Saturday night.

The Lion has kicked 29 goals this season to sit in the top ten in the competition, which follows his outstanding 2019 when he booted 57.

He showed promise with the Crows after being drafted from WA with pick seven in the 2013 rookie draft, kicking 87 goals in 73 matches, and has flourished further as a Lion.

Cameron, who requested a trade to the Lions on compassionate grounds in order to be closer to his family, credits coach Chris Fagan, football manager David Noble and former Lion and Bulldog Jed Adcock for helping him elevate his game to the elite level.

“I think, for me, coming from Adelaide and coming off a grand final in 2017 to 2018, everyone was going, ‘Why is he coming here?’. But I think it has helped me grow as a person,” he said.

“The forward line I came from was pretty mature at Adelaide and had a lot of old players around me who helped me, whereas coming here, there are a lot of people younger than me.

“It has helped me to grow as a player and mature as a person, to get better and to try to help make others better as well. I don’t mind that.

“At times, you want to sit back and relax, but people look for you to bring the spark, things like that, so I guess when I go out there and kick goals, it gives everyone a little bit extra.

“I want to get everyone involved, everyone hyped up, everyone excited when I celebrate.”

Cameron, who kicked five goals for Adelaide in a preliminary final against Geelong in 2017, starred in the Lions qualifying final triumph over Richmond when booting three.

Only twice in ten finals has he failed to kick a goal and he is determined to have an impact against Geelong on Saturday night and, should Brisbane prevail, in the grand final.

“I’ve told a few boys that, ‘This is electric. This is why you play footy’,” he said.

“These moments, where you have the crowd behind you, with a lot of people watching because of the big stage, that is why you play footy, these are the moments you play for.

“From where we were when I got here three years ago, when we finished 18th, to finishing 16th, to see the team grow and become … a club where players want to come here, it is pretty special.

“We are going to go out there and give it our all for a lot of people here in Queensland and obviously the people down in Victoria who are supporters of the Lions and the fans around Australia. I’m really looking forward to it.”