STAR Greater Western Sydney forward Jeremy Cameron has conceded he's had to tweak the way he plays the game after his disappointing four-match suspension resulting from this year's NAB Challenge.
Cameron's late bump on Brisbane Lion Rhys Mathieson in the Giants' last pre-season game at the Gabba left the youngster with a fractured cheekbone and robbed coach Leon Cameron of his best forward for the first month of the season.
The Giants' have struggled to replace the brilliant Cameron, who has led the goalkicking at the club in all four of its seasons in the league, and was an All Australian in 2014.
Match preview: Greater Western Sydney v Port Adelaide
An athletic player who is lauded at GWS for his ferocious attack on both the ball and the opposition, Cameron says he's had a brief chat with his coach about the way he goes about it, and admits he has to make some changes.
"I am that (sort of) player where I do see it (the ball) and just go as hard as I can basically, and I've always done that in most things I do," Cameron said on Thursday.
"It's just about seeing the game a bit better and seeing those situations and weighing them up a lot quicker.
"You see the guys that make really quick, sharp decisions and I think that’s where I have to develop my game a little bit more, just bit a bit quicker up here (in the mind)."
Forced to watch on as his teammates coughed up their round one game against Melbourne and then were beaten by the Sydney Swans last week, Cameron says he's been frustrated with the fact he's unable to help his side win games.
The 23-year-old, who kicked a career-high 63 goals in 2015 at an average of almost three per game, has cut a lone figure at Giants training over the past month, with fitness staff putting him through extra conditioning work to keep him match-ready for when he returns to the senior side.
Cameron will be back to face St Kilda at Etihad stadium on Sunday week and says he hopes to show off the selfless side of his game, rather than just being known as a goalkicker.
"In my All Australian year I was just out there trying to get the ball and kick goals, where as now I'm thinking about the game a lot more," he said.
"To look at guys like Josh Kennedy over in the West doing his stuff, you see the way he chases and tackles and that sort of thing, that’s the way I want to develop my game.
"I'd rather kick 20 goals (per year) and have everyone else kick 30 if we made the finals, and went deep into the finals.
"I'd rather that every day of the week than kicking 60 (goals), so it's all about helping each other out as teammates, that’s what we worked on a lot over the pre-season, the way we can get other guys into the game.
"Going back a few years as a young side, you can focus on yourself a lot and if you're going well it's fine, but if you're a bit down it's a bit hard to ask for help."
Cameron has kept himself busy during his suspension by dabbling in a bit of acting for the Giants' new brand campaign.
Under the slogan 'There's a GIANT in all of us', the gun forward starred alongside eight-year-old GWS fan Lincoln Summers, the unlikely duo now good friends after meeting at a footy clinic in Sydney's west three years ago.
