Fresh from a weekend camping trip with a former teammate, Jeremy Cameron isn’t sure whether an early-season bye will be a blessing or a curse for Geelong as it prepares for a Thursday night meeting with Adelaide.
After featuring in Opening Round, the Cats found themselves scheduled for a bye in Round 2, missing a chance to build on the momentum built during the come-from-behind victory over Fremantle in Round 1.
Following the meeting with the Crows, Geelong will have an 11-day break heading into the Easter Monday meeting with Hawthorn, as it did last year.
“It’s definitely different having a bye (at) Round 2,” the reigning Coleman medallist said. “I don’t know if I love it or hate it yet.
“I got away woodcutting, so I love that side of it.
“It was nice to go camping with my little girl, but at the same time, it’s nice to play consistent footy, and get into a bit of a footy routine as well.
“It’s an interesting start to the year, with Easter Monday for us as well.
“So, a different start to the year, but yeah, we get on with it and sort of deal with it as it comes.”
Cameron joined former GWS Giants teammate Ryan Griffen on a property near Yea in the state’s northeast.
“It was a daddy-daughter weekend, so it was nice,” he said. “We’ve been talking of it for a while.
They had a ball, and it was nice to fill in the weekend that way while the weather’s still brilliant.”
The chance to get away is part of the football-life balance Geelong has become noted for.
However, Cameron says being able to switch back on is the result of his 15 years in the AFL system.
“For me, it probably is too easy these days,” he said. “I switch off the moment I walk out the door, but that comes with time in the game, I think, and experience.
“For the younger boys, it’s probably a bit of a challenge at times. You’ve got to switch off; you don’t want to think about it all the time.
“I still watch games of footy, and tuned in yesterday a little bit.
“And especially the teams we’re coming up against. I do like to watch them play.
“It’s switch off as soon as I get out, get to the farm, find something to do, and then tomorrow morning or the next morning when we’re coming back in, I’m fresh and ready to get better.
“I still want to keep improving. I’m almost 33 now, and I still want to find ways to help my team get better and help the players around me improve.”
K rock is live from 6pm Thursday via FM 95.5 across Geelong and the Surf Coast, the K rock app, and the AFL app.
X: @krockfootball
