Sport
2 October, 2024
Birthplace of champions: Why King Charles must be included on next sign
Charlie Cameron is a champion after winning a premiership with the Brisbane Lions on Saturday.
Scott Prince, Greg Norman, Pat Rafter, Simon Black and Charlie Cameron: five champion athletes who have one thing in common – they were born in Mount Isa
Yet one is not like the other and that must change.
Charlie Cameron is the only one who isn’t recognised on the famous billboard that greets motorists when driving into the city, which says: “Welcome to The Isa: Birthplace of champions”.
Now, having won a premiership with Brisbane in his third grand final appearance, that must change.
Cameron will retire as one of the greats of the modern era, having kicked more than 400 goals in over 200 games.
He certainly belongs on the billboard to join Mount Isa royalty, which includes actress Deborah Mailman and musician William Barton.
Amazingly, Cameron grew up without any ambitions to be an AFL footballer.
In fact, before he was drafted to the Adelaide Crows at the end of 2013, the small forward had only played a couple of full seasons.
While the 30-year-old was born in Mount Isa, he spent most of his childhood on Mornington Island, where he went fishing and played rugby league in the schoolyard.
Perhaps the first game of organised footy he played was in Townsville at the end of primary school, where he was selected to represent the Cape York Crusaders in the Queensland under-14 country championships.
The AFL Cape York program must have visited Mornington Island and spotted Cameron as a talented prospect.
Yet the passionate Melbourne Storm supporter stuck with rugby league and later rugby union as he made the move to boarding school in Brisbane to complete his secondary education.
At Marist College Ashgrove, Cameron was also a gun baseballer and played just a handful of Aussie Rules games through his school.
“I played a lot of rugby union and league as a fullback or winger, sometimes in the centres,” he said in a 2019 Herald Sun interview.
“I probably only played about four games of AFL and spent a few months in the Brisbane Lions Talent Academy, but I didn’t know much about the game at all.”
His parents moved to Newman in Western Australia and Cameron followed them once he graduated.
“I went to the mines straight from school, but I really enjoyed it,” Cameron said of his time at iron ore mine Mount Whaleback, where he worked 12-hour shifts.
“I have always known I would need to work hard to get to where I want to be. Working in the mines was something I had wanted to do growing up.
“I was there for about eight months and started playing Aussie rules with the Newman Saints.
“I still didn’t know much about Aussie rules and wasn’t a very good kick, but I had the speed and would tackle and run.”
By the end of the 2012 season, Cameron had caught the eye of talent scouts in Perth, who invited him down to play in the Colts side for Swan Districts.
After three games, he decided to make the move to the capital city and began an apprenticeship as a mechanic.
Such was Cameron’s talent, by the time round one of the 2013 WAFL season rolled around, he was in the senior team.
A five-goal haul against East Fremantle late in the season was enough to put him on the radar of AFL clubs, although when the draft rolled around, Cameron was overlooked by all 18 clubs.
However, the AFL has a rookie draft which gave clubs the chance to recruit players on a smaller contract with fewer guarantees.
With the seventh pick in the rookie draft, the Adelaide Crows selected Cameron.
“Charlie’s been elite at any sport he’s tried,” said Crows recruiting boss Hamish Ogilvie at the time.
“He’s only played 30 to 40 games of footy in total.
“We would’ve been happy to take Charlie in the National Draft.
“The Swans Districts players love Charlie and rate him highly.
“Our recruiting blokes in West Australia have pushed and pushed for Charlie, and done a lot of homework on him.
“He’s a cheeky kid. Everyone loves him.”
The Crows’ WA-based scout Phil Bunn watched Cameron that season and pushed his case.
“Charlie kicked five in a game against South Fremantle late in the year – that was probably the game that convinced me we should pick him,” Bunn said.
“He creates a lot of goals through his forward pressure.
“He loves tackling – he had nine tackles in one game in the WAFL.
“He can also take a good mark for a little fella. I’ve seen him sit on top of a pack and take a hanger. He’s a chasing, hard-working, tackling small forward in the Eddie Betts/Jared Petrenko mould.
“Hopefully, Eddie, Jared Petrenko and also Ian Callinan can take Charlie under their wings and really help bring him along.”
That, they did.
While Cameron played just a handful of games in his debut AFL season, he still averaged more than a goal per game.
By his second season, he was a lynchpin in the side and played in every game, finishing with 29 goals and proving to be a headache for opposition teams.
That trend continued for another two seasons and finished with a grand final appearance for Adelaide in 2017, which the Crows lost by 48 points.
Within weeks, Cameron had been traded to Brisbane in exchange for pick 12 in the draft.
While Cameron took a year to settle into life back in Brisbane, his game exploded to a new level in the 2019 season.
In his last six years, the Lions star has kicked 301 goals in 145 games, which includes grand final appearances in the last two seasons.
On Saturday, as Brisbane won its first premiership since 2003, Cameron was once again a key player on the field.
He had the chance to kick the first goal of the match, but missed a set shot, only to redeem himself later in the quarter with a much harder attempt from the boundary.
His cousin Renee Wilson said all of Mornington Island was cheering him on.
“We had a big barbecue and a lot of people came around to watch,” she said.
“There were a few cars getting around decorated with the Lions colours.
“I think a lot of kids will be looking up to him. That little shout out he gave Mornington Island at the end just topped it off.”
She was referring to Cameron’s post-match interview with Luke Hodge.
“I want to say I appreciate all you guys at Mornington Island; love you guys,” he said in front of a national audience of millions of viewers.
And while Cameron’s trademark song, John Denver’s Country Roads, didn’t ring out across the MCG on Saturday, that didn’t stop hordes of fans from singing it loudly in the stands.
His electricity on the field even had former Brisbane Lions legend Jason Akermanis up and about.
“The loudest roar since I’ve played is certainly for Charlie,” said Akermanis.
“He certainly acknowledges the crowd. We never had the songs after goals, which is really cool.
“Joey (Daniher) get as big a roar when he’s on fire, but they certainly love Charlie and if you look across the crowds he’s certainly the most popular Lion.”
Cameron admits he is growing into being a role model for young fans, particularly Indigenous kids.
“It’s been a tough road but I’m thankful for the upbringing I had and the lessons it’s taught me,” he said during a trip to Mount Isa.
“If I could tell these kids one thing it would be to make the most of the opportunities that come your way, take a chance because you never know where it could lead you.”
Cameron said he relished going back to Mornington Island.
“I went over in the off season,” he told North West Weekly in 2022.
“I did a camping trip which was pretty cool. It was mainly just fishing and hunting. Coral trout is my favourite fish to catch along with snapper and barra.
“I’ve got a few family members up there that are pretty good at fishing.
“They’re probably better than me but just to have that lifestyle is pretty awesome. It makes me feel extremely lucky.”
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan perhaps said it best.
“Until Charlie came along I’d never seen the Gabba light up,” he said.
“He lights the place up, he entertains and plays footy the right way ... and puts smiles on people’s faces.
“Aside from trying to win premierships, that’s what this game is all about.”
With Mount Isa’s billboards starting to look a little bit worse for wear, it might be time for the city’s leaders to consider replacing them.
Adding Cameron’s face to the list of champions seems to be a no-brainer.
Not only is he already a champ, but he could go down as one of the great small forwards of the modern era and become just the 65th person to kick more than 500 goals in AFL/VFL history.