Superstar forward and Coleman Medallist Jeremy Cameron has been named at centre half-forward in the 2019 Virgin Australia All Australian team.
Having kicked 67 goals so far in a career-best season, the 26-year-old claimed his first Coleman Medal as the league’s highest goalkicker last weekend with a nine-goal haul.
Cameron is averaging 16 disposals and more than six marks a game, and has kicked four or more goals seven times this season including bags of nine, seven and six (twice).
GIANTS coach Leon Cameron paid tribute to Cameron’s season and his second All Australian honour.
“Winning the Coleman Medal and being acknowledged as the number one goal kicker in the league is a great effort,” the coach said.
“What goes unnoticed and has now probably been noticed by the All Australian selectors is that it’s not just his ability to hit the scoreboard.
“He finds the ball up the ground, he pumps the ball inside-50, he plays defence better than he ever has.
“Ultimately he plays with a passion that our players love having him out there and it’s just phenomenal.
“It’s a just reward for a great year.”
Cameron put his career-best season down to the hard work he put in over the summer at the WestConnex Centre.
“When you sit down at the start of the year, you want to have a really good season and I sat down with the coaches and basically put forward that I want to have my best season ever,” he said.
"To date, to finish the home and away season, I probably have had my best year so far, probably my most consistent year and it all started in pre-season for me.
“I think the consistency in my game has probably gone to another level.”
Cameron last earned All Australian honours in 2013 and said his second award feels ‘sweeter’.
“They mean different things to me,” he said.
“In my second year when I won that, it was a little bit surprising to a lot of people.
“I've always believed in myself and my talent and the way I go about things and I feel like that was the first season where I felt like I really belonged.
“I'm definitely probably three or four times the player I was back then. I was very just see ball and hopefully kick a goal. I'd have four goals and six touches a game and that's it.
“Now I'm averaging a lot more disposals and kicks inside 50 and helping out my teammates that way as well.
“I think that's all on the back of working hard throughout pre-season and making sure that every pre-season I do is better than the last one.
“On the back of that hard work, it's paid off. So this one feels a lot sweeter.”
Cameron follows in the footsteps of the club’s previous All Australians Lachie Whitfield (2018), Josh Kelly (2017), Dylan Shiel (2017), Toby Greene (2016) and Heath Shaw (2016 and 2015).
