IF GREATER Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron is nervous about losing star forward Jeremy Cameron for the start of the season, he's not showing it.
The 2013 All Australian was reported in the Giants' final NAB Challenge match against the Brisbane Lions on Sunday for a bump on teenager Rhys Mathieson that could land him in some strife.
But the Giants' mentor wasn't too fazed when speaking about the incident post-match.
Click here to watch Leon Cameron's full post-match press conference
"If he's fine, he's fine, if he's not, he's not, that's what happens," Cameron said.
"Initially when I saw what happened I thought Jeremy was trying to smother or something, but until I have a good look at the replay I'm not sure.
"It's like anything these days, if it's a good bump or a bad bump, you'll find out."
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Mathieson had just disposed of the ball during the third quarter when Cameron left his feet to bump.
The blow left Mathieson groggy and he was immediately taken from the ground.
Lions coach Justin Leppitsch said Mathieson had been taken for scans on a possible fractured cheekbone.
The incident didn't affect Cameron's play though, with the star forward kicking three of his four goals in the following five minutes to put the game out of reach.
Aside from Cameron's troubles, it was a perfect round one tune-up for the Giants, who came through unscathed and put a poor first quarter behind them to run out easy winners.
Shane Mumford got through more than 80 percent of the match after overcoming an ankle injury, while Steve Johnson played a half – kicking three goals – after suffering from gastro during the week.
The Giants butchered the ball often during the first quarter, gifting the Lions three of their four goals, but tightened up and dominated thereafter.
"We want to be bold and play through the corridor, we want to play an exciting brand of footy, so you need to take risks that way," Cameron said.
"But if it's off one step, that's the basic error … you're not good enough to kick off one step."
Cameron said the team that defeated the Lions would make up the bulk of the outfit to take on Melbourne in two weeks, but hadn't ruled out a recall of former number one pick Jonathon Patton, who played in the NEAFL on Saturday.
"He just wants to play every weekend and he probably needs six weekends in a row just to play, just to get that confidence back," Cameron said.
"Whether that's at NEAFL or AFL level, his form will determine that. The main thing is his confidence, he's coming back from some serious issues.
"I think he takes a small step every time he plays."
