Leon Cameron

Leon Cameron (born 2 September 1972) is a former Australian rules footballer who is the 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.

Leon Cameron
Cameron in April 2018
Personal information
Full name Leon Cameron
Date of birth (1972-09-02) 2 September 1972
Original team(s) Caramut
Draft No. 7, 1988 national draft
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s) 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– Greater Western Sydney 125 (68–54–3)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2003.
3 Coaching statistics correct as of Round 8, 2019.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL playing career

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]

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.[2][3]

AFL coaching career

Assistant coaching roles

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,[4] 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).[5]

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.[6]

First senior coaching role

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.[7] Cameron's contract, signed in October 2012, stipulated one year as senior assistant coach to Sheedy and then 3 years as the senior coach.[8]

Cameron coached Greater Western Sydney to the 2019 AFL Grand Final, however they were soundly beaten by Richmond by 89 points.[9]

In the 2020 AFL season even after a disappointing year in which the club greatly underachieved and missed the finals series, he signed a 2 year extension with the club contracting him to the end of the 2022 seasons.

Statistics

Playing statistics
[10]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1990 Footscray 182081025812938774130.40.512.96.519.43.70.7
1991 Footscray 181910112417932057100.50.612.74.216.83.00.5
1992 Footscray 1830022729100.00.07.32.39.70.30.0
1993 Footscray 181981131412343759240.40.616.56.523.03.11.3
1994 Footscray 1824132432813646497250.51.013.75.719.34.01.0
1995 Footscray 182371933613547185240.30.814.65.920.53.71.0
1996 Footscray 1883174281022290.40.19.33.512.82.81.1
1997 Western Bulldogs 1817610207592666270.40.612.23.515.63.60.4
1998 Western Bulldogs 1822652769036680190.30.212.54.116.63.60.9
1999 Western Bulldogs 1817711164632275760.40.69.63.713.43.40.4
2000 Richmond 1519332577933673190.20.213.54.217.73.81.0
2001 Richmond 1525196344139483111330.80.213.85.619.34.41.3
2002 Richmond 15192101849127559230.10.59.74.814.53.11.2
2003 Richmond 15211641755723290150.80.28.32.711.04.30.7
Career 256 108 125 3180 1215 4395 927 227 0.4 0.5 12.4 4.7 17.2 3.6 0.9

Coaching statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2018 season[11]
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 22616027.3%1618
2015 Greater Western Sydney 221111050.0%1118
2016 Greater Western Sydney 24177070.8%418
2017 Greater Western Sydney 25158260.0%418
2018 Greater Western Sydney 24149058.3%718
2019 Greater Western Sydney 261610161.5%618
Career totals 143 83 61 3 54.65%

References
  1. Mithen, Anthony (3 September 1995). "Cameron hopes success will rub off on Dogs". The Age. p. 40.
  2. 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.
  3. "Cameron to retire following Tigers, Hawks clash". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 26 August 2003. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  4. Lane, Samantha (28 August 2011). "The pick of the litter". The Sunday Age. p. 5.
  5. "First things first for Hawks midfield coach, then Leon Cameron to make Power move". News.com.au. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  6. Cowley, Michael (4 October 2012). "Port to miss as Cameron goes north". The Age.
  7. "Gary Ablett stars as Kevin Sheedy's coaching career ends with an 83-point loss", News Ltd, 1 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  8. "Cameron the future for GWS", Sydney Morning Herald, 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  9. Beveridge, Riley (28 September 2019). "Orange crushed: Tigers roar once more under Dimma's dynasty". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  10. Leon Cameron's player profile at AFL Tables
  11. "Leon Cameron's coaching profile". AFL Tables.
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