Jeremy Cameron comments spark concerns amid Geelong's poor start to season

Amid Geelong's shock 0-3 start to the AFL season, key forward Jeremy Cameron's comments after their grand final victory last year may have come back to bite them. The reigning premiers collapsed to a third straight loss to start their season after losing to the Gold Coast Suns last weekend.

While the Cats were no certainty to repeat last year's thumping grand final victory, few if anyone had predicted they would be the only winless team in the league after three rounds. Another loss could potentially jeopardise their finals hopes, with a win over Hawthorn on Easter Monday suddenly a crucial turning point.

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Former AFL premiership player Kane Cornes said the Cats were playing like a 'satisfied' team, seizing on comments from Cameron describing a month of post-grand final antics. The key forward had joined former player Tom Sheridan's podcast Tommy Talks, where he described a raucous month of partying before 'flicking the switch' for pre-season training.

However after Geelong's third straight loss, Cornes said Cameron's talk of living off of 'beer fumes and just food, that many Maccas burgers and hash browns, egg and bacons' could potentially have come back to bite the Cats. He'd already criticised the club after their round one loss to Collingwood, suggesting players looked 'comfortable' but lacking in a hard edge.

“Jeremy Cameron can probably get away with that ... he’s got the talent to do that and flick the switch,” Cornes told SEN. “But if his teammates have also celebrated like that, I’ll ask you the question — can Zach Tuohy get away with living off beer fumes and hash browns for breakfast?

“Can Tom Atkins do the same — because he’s not the same player that was jumping on landmines for his teammates last year. Can Zach Guthrie, Gryan Miers and Brad Close do it?

“Tyson Stengle is a shadow of the All-Australian player that he was last year. Can he do it? This is a group that is satisfied.”

Cameron, whose canny and down to earth manner has endeared him to many fans, had discussed with Sheridan the moment of realisation that the premiership party was over and that pre-season training beckoned. He quipped that he was yet to look Geelong's trainer in the eye after his off-season.

“The knee blew up, limping down the road 300 metres in, skin folds were over 120. All you think about is beer fumes and just food, that many Maccas burgers and hash browns, egg and bacons,” Cameron revealed.

“It’s a proper month of just (going for it), then it comes a time and it’s like overnight, the fingers just click and you’re like: ‘We have to do it again here’. It’s just a horrible feeling when that comes. I still haven’t looked the dietitian in the eye.”

Geelong finals hopes in jeopardy after shocking AFL start

Despite the retirement of long-time skipper Joel Selwood after last year's grand final win, the Cats were able to embark on a highly successful off-season which saw them sign useful players such as Jack Bowes and Ollie Henry. As such, many expected Geelong to remain at least in the vicinity of the top four.

Instead, their 0-3 record prompted Fox Footy's David King to declare their finals hopes were 'cooked' - despite admitting he'd gone the early crow on Geelong's demise in the past. He said the difference was that there was a clear step down from their top level this time around.

“When I look at it now, the air has come out of the tyres a lot for the Cats," he said. "A lot has gone wrong at the start of the year. They’re chasing their game in terms of fitness, they’re chasing their game in terms of health, at 0-3 and just the look of their team now, I’ve never seen their midfield look so slow.

“They just look like they’re being out-hunted at the moment. I know there’d be some concerns in the Geelong coaches box. They’ll do their best to kick that can down the road, but right now that they’ve never looked in a state of disrepair defensively like they are at the minute.”

Geelong won 16 games in a row to storm to the 2022 title and Scott is staying calm despite losses to Collingwood, Carlton and then the Suns, who were also 0-2. Even making finals from this position has been tough in recent seasons, Sydney (2017) and GWS (2021) two outliers, but Scott isn't panicking.

"It depends, when you toss three heads, if you think a tails must be next," he said of their predicament. "We'd prefer to look at it in terms of making sure we get the next bit right.

"We could spend a whole lot of time thinking about what it means and referring back to last year, which I get why people do, but it would be a mistake for us to do it. I won't be defensive if anyone says it's not the ideal start to the season."

With AAP

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