There are plenty of talking points after Round 17 of the AFL season, one of the biggest is whether Geelong spearhead Jeremy Cameron is playing under an injury cloud and should be sidelined.
Let's get to this week's overreactions column, where we judge the biggest takeaways as legitimate or irrational.
The Cats would be better off without Jeremy Cameron this week against GWS
Jeremy Cameron's lean run of form continued on Thursday evening against the Lions at GMHBA Stadium, failing to hit the scoreboard for the second time in four weeks and being held to just two kicks for the night. The reigning Coleman Medal winner has managed just five goals across his last four appearances and looks a shell of the player who has routinely ripped games apart for Geelong over the years.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
Let's get something clear right off the top. When fit and firing, Jeremy Cameron is still the premier key forward in the game and a potential match-winner every time he steps out onto a footy field. Unfortunately for the Cats, at the moment he doesn't appear to be close to 100% fit, nor is he firing.
Of course, the fitness aspect of Cameron's recent run is total speculation, despite the fact he clearly appears hampered by the right arm which he broke during the 2025 Grand Final. After Thursday's loss to Brisbane, Cats coach Chris Scott denied that his star forward is playing under an injury cloud, noting the last time he fielded such questions in a press conference, Cameron responded in style with a bag off 11 goals against the Kangaroos in Round 20 last year.
"The feedback we're getting is that he's well and truly good enough to play," said Scott. "I think you can take it as read that we do not play players that we don't think can perform. The fact that a player can get out there to play doesn't mean that he should. We are quizzing the medical staff and Jeremy and he's saying 'look, I'm not perfect, but I'm well and truly good enough to perform."
Maybe he's fit, maybe he isn't, but if it is to be the latter, why wouldn't the Cats want to rest him this week and let that injury heal? What's the downside when he's been having next to no positive impact on games of late? With all due respect to the Giants, who just knocked off the ladder leading Dockers, a Cameron-less Geelong should still be getting the four points against GWS more times than not.
On the flip side, if Cameron is fully fit, then it's inarguable that he's wildly out of form. Not only has he managed just five goals from four games, he's barely getting his hands on the Sherrin. In that time he's averaging seven disposals (down from 16 for the season) and 2.5 marks (down from 7.6 for the season).
-- Jake Michaels
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