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Leon Cameron
Cameron in April 2018
Personal information
Full name Leon Cameron
Date of birth (1972-09-02) 2 September 1972 (age 52)
Original team(s) South Warrnambool Football Club
Draft No. 7, 1988 national draft
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s) Wing/Defender
Club information
Current club Greater Western Sydney
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1990–1999 Footscray/Western Bulldogs 172 0(68)
2000–2003 Richmond 084 0(40)
Total 256 (108)
Coaching career3
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
2014–2022 Greater Western Sydney 193 (101–88-4)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2003.
3 Coaching statistics correct as of Round 9, 2022.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Leon Cameron (born 2 September 1972) is a former Australian rules footballer who is the former senior coach of the Greater Western Sydney Giants (GWS) in the Australian Football League (AFL). His AFL playing career lasted from 1990 to 2003 and included 256 senior games – 172 for the Western Bulldogs and 84 for Richmond.

AFL playing career

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Footscray/Western Bulldogs

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Cameron was recruited from South Warrnambool Football Club with the 7th selection in the 1988 National draft for the Footscray Football Club (Bulldogs). He played 172 games and kicked 68 goals for the Bulldogs between 1990 and 1999 and won the Charles Sutton Medal in 1993 and The Age Footballer of the Year award in 1995.[1][2]

Richmond

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In 2000, Cameron was traded to the Richmond Football Club where he played a further 84 games and kicked 40 goals over four seasons before retiring at the end of the 2003 AFL season.[3][4][5]

AFL coaching career

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Assistant coaching roles

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After retirement Cameron returned to the Western Bulldogs as an assistant coach from 2004 to the end of 2010. In September 2010 he accepted an assistant coaching role with Hawthorn,[6] playing an instrumental role in the club as they reached the 2012 AFL Grand Final, which was lost to the Sydney Swans. It was Cameron's first Grand Final as an AFL player or coach after three preliminary final losses as a player (two at the Western Bulldogs and one at Richmond) and another four as an assistant coach (three at the Bulldogs and one at Hawthorn).[7]

Cameron then joined Greater Western Sydney as the senior assistant coach for the 2013 season with a contract that appointed him as the senior coach from 2014.[8]

First senior coaching role

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Greater Western Sydney

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On 1 September 2013, after Kevin Sheedy coached his 679th and final game as a senior coach in the VFL-AFL, the competing teams formed a guard of honour for Sheedy and a handover ceremony took place with Sheedy passing the baton to Leon Cameron who succeeded him as senior coach.[9] Cameron's contract, signed in October 2012, stipulated one year as assistant coach under senior coach Sheedy and then 3 years as the senior coach.[10]

Cameron's tenure saw the Giants reach five out of a possible six finals series between 2016 and 2021, the most memorable among those being the Giants' narrow preliminary final loss to eventual premiers the Western Bulldogs, as well as Greater Western Sydney's inaugural grand final appearance in 2019, where they were defeated by Richmond by 89 points.[11][12]

Despite the Giants making the 2021 AFL finals series, Cameron resigned as senior coach of GWS Giants on 12 May 2022 after eight years in the senior coaching role. This followed a string of poor on-field results for the Giants, and saw Cameron replaced by assistant coach Mark McVeigh as GWS caretaker senior coach for the rest of the 2022 season, following a farewell game against Carlton in Round 9, 2022.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] In the match, GWS lost by a margin of 30 points, and Cameron left the field through a guard of honour from both sides.[22][23]

During Leon Cameron's tenure with the Giants, he became associated with the phrase "Phucemol" during the 2020 season at the Gold Coast hub. This expression was intended to ignite a sense of resilience among the players, encouraging them to disregard external opinions. Unfortunately, the phrase did not achieve the desired impact.

Statistics

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Playing statistics

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[24]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1990 Footscray 18 20 8 10 258 129 387 74 13 0.4 0.5 12.9 6.5 19.4 3.7 0.7 10
1991 Footscray 18 19 10 11 241 79 320 57 10 0.5 0.6 12.7 4.2 16.8 3.0 0.5 2
1992 Footscray 18 3 0 0 22 7 29 1 0 0.0 0.0 7.3 2.3 9.7 0.3 0.0 0
1993 Footscray 18 19 8 11 314 123 437 59 24 0.4 0.6 16.5 6.5 23.0 3.1 1.3 14
1994 Footscray 18 24 13 24 328 136 464 97 25 0.5 1.0 13.7 5.7 19.3 4.0 1.0 13
1995 Footscray 18 23 7 19 336 135 471 85 24 0.3 0.8 14.6 5.9 20.5 3.7 1.0 7
1996 Footscray 18 8 3 1 74 28 102 22 9 0.4 0.1 9.3 3.5 12.8 2.8 1.1 0
1997 Western Bulldogs 18 17 6 10 207 59 266 62 7 0.4 0.6 12.2 3.5 15.6 3.6 0.4 3
1998 Western Bulldogs 18 22 6 5 276 90 366 80 19 0.3 0.2 12.5 4.1 16.6 3.6 0.9 0
1999 Western Bulldogs 18 17 7 11 164 63 227 57 6 0.4 0.6 9.6 3.7 13.4 3.4 0.4 2
2000 Richmond 15 19 3 3 257 79 336 73 19 0.2 0.2 13.5 4.2 17.7 3.8 1.0 3
2001 Richmond 15 25 19 6 344 139 483 111 33 0.8 0.2 13.8 5.6 19.3 4.4 1.3 11
2002 Richmond 15 19 2 10 184 91 275 59 23 0.1 0.5 9.7 4.8 14.5 3.1 1.2 2
2003 Richmond 15 21 16 4 175 57 232 90 15 0.8 0.2 8.3 2.7 11.0 4.3 0.7 1
Career 256 108 125 3180 1215 4395 927 227 0.4 0.5 12.4 4.7 17.2 3.6 0.9 68

Coaching statistics

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[25]
Legend
 W  Wins  L  Losses  D  Draws  W%  Winning percentage  LP  Ladder position  LT  League teams
Season Team Games W L D W % LP LT
2014 Greater Western Sydney 22 6 16 0 27.3% 16 18
2015 Greater Western Sydney 22 11 11 0 50.0% 11 18
2016 Greater Western Sydney 24 17 7 0 70.8% 4 18
2017 Greater Western Sydney 25 15 8 2 60.0% 4 18
2018 Greater Western Sydney 24 14 9 0 58.3% 7 18
2019 Greater Western Sydney 26 16 10 1 61.5% 6 18
2020 Greater Western Sydney 17 8 9 0 47.1% 10 18
2021 Greater Western Sydney 24 12 11 1 52.1% 7 18
2022[a] Greater Western Sydney 9 2 7 0 22.2% 15 18
Career totals 193 101 88 4 53.37%

Notes

  1. ^ Leon Cameron stood down as coach of GWS at the conclusion of round 9, 2022. At this point in the season, GWS were 15th on the ladder with two wins and seven losses.

References

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  1. ^ Mithen, Anthony (3 September 1995). "Cameron hopes success will rub off on Dogs". The Age. p. 40.
  2. ^ "LEON CAMERON". Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  3. ^ Greenberg, Tony (19 October 2012). "Top 20 Tiger trade pick-ups: No. 9". Richmond Football Club. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Cameron to retire following Tigers, Hawks clash". Australia: ABC News. 26 August 2003. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  5. ^ "LEON CAMERON". Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  6. ^ Lane, Samantha (28 August 2011). "The pick of the litter". The Sunday Age. p. 5.
  7. ^ "First things first for Hawks midfield coach, then Leon Cameron to make Power move". News.com.au. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  8. ^ Cowley, Michael (4 October 2012). "Port to miss as Cameron goes north". The Age.
  9. ^ "Gary Ablett stars as Kevin Sheedy's coaching career ends with an 83-point loss", News Ltd, 1 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  10. ^ "Cameron the future for GWS", Sydney Morning Herald, 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  11. ^ Beveridge, Riley (28 September 2019). "Orange crushed: Tigers roar once more under Dimma's dynasty". AFL Media. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  12. ^ "AFL grand final 2019 as it happened: Richmond crush GWS". 28 September 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  13. ^ Barrett, Damien; Gabelich, Josh (12 May 2022). "LEON RESIGNS: Giants coach quits after nine years in 'good decision'". AFL Media. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  14. ^ "'This is a good decision': Cameron, Giants make mutual call to part ways". 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Leon Cameron resigns as GWS coach, ending nine-year tenure at AFL club". 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Leon Cameron explains why he resigned as Greater Western Sydney coach". 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Leon Cameron reveals what led to Giant break-up as coach steps down eight rounds into ninth AFL season". 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Leon Cameron quits after nine years as Greater Western Sydney Giants coach". 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Leon Cameron explains why he resigned as Greater Western Sydney coach". 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Thank You Leon". 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Leon Cameron makes shock decision to resign as GWS Giants coach, Alastair Clarkson and Nathan Buckley in the frame to replace him". 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Leon Cameron's dignified GWS Giants exit fits his treasured tenure". 15 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Blues crash Cameron party as spirited Giants farewell coach, but Williams injury sours win". 15 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  24. ^ Leon Cameron's player profile at AFL Tables
  25. ^ "Leon Cameron's coaching profile". AFL Tables.
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