He might be the AFL's hottest attacking talent but Brisbane Lions livewire Charlie Cameron says it's his defensive efforts that are fuelling his recent scoring spree.
Boasting 17 goals in his last three games, Cameron ranks third in the Coleman Medal race and has helped the Lions turn a 1-2 start around to sit 4-2 and sixth on the ladder.
Working with twin talls Eric Hipwood and Joe Daniher, lead-up option Jack Gunston and other smalls Cam Rayner and Lincoln McCarthy, Cameron is reaping the rewards of a beautifully balanced forward line that's testing defences across the league.
"I'm going alright at the moment but it comes down to the other players that helped me out and put me in positions as well," Cameron said in the wake of his seven-goal performance in Brisbane's 21-point win over GWS on Saturday.
"We've got a great forward line and anyone can have those days. It was my day on Saturday.
"Joey and Eric had a big bag last week against North Melbourne.
"As a small forward you don't really get as much opportunity as the key forwards but I'm just trying to make the most of it."
Cameron echoed coach Chris Fagan's post-game assessment of his form, saying impacting the opposition defence with pressure brought the best out of him.
"I'm trying to rely on defensive pressure from tackling and putting pressure on my defender," Cameron said.
"That gets me into the game and I'm looking for opportunities to get turnovers and trying to hurt them on the way back through.
"One thing I have in my kit bag is I'm pretty quick ... hopefully I'll stay quick in a couple of years.
"I'm making the most of my opportunities and getting myself in some good spots to get some shots on goal."
Gunston's addition to the forward mix is still taking shape but the three-time premiership player is drawing attention away from the other Brisbane stars.
He has slotted seven goals in five games, quickly finding his feet in a new city after more than a decade at Hawthorn.
"His quality is his leadership, he's from a quality side ... he played unreal footy at Hawthorn," Cameron said.
"Having him to learn from, a different player to what we have as our talls at the moment, he's a lead-up player, he's crafty.
"For me and our other talls, we can just learn off him and get some good advice."
