Charlie gets his bite back
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has revealed a series of surgeries on Charlie Cameron’s teeth during the pre-season has played a part in his slow start to 2024, but saw some “buzz and energy” last week like he did in his team as they prepare for an all new challenge against Melbourne.
Cameron lost his front teeth and suffered a broken bone under his nose after a contest with Richmond’s Trent Cotchin in round 16 last season.
The star forward didn’t miss a game, but after the
Lions’ heartbreaking grand-final loss to Collingwood, he needed multiple surgeries to fix his dental issues which meant missing chunks of the already shorter pre-season.
Cameron had been below his dazzling best through the opening three games of 2023, but found some spark with two goals against North Melbourne last weekend.
Ahead of a crunch clash with Melbourne at the MCG on Thursday, Fagan said he saw enough good signs from Cameron, the rest of his forward line and others to be confident they were going in the “right direction” after finally notching a first win against the inexperienced Kangaroos.
“I haven’t talked about this, but Charlie had a really interrupted pre-season with would you believe tooth surgery,” Fagan said on Wednesday morning.
“He got his teeth knocked out last year. He had to have a series of procedures across the pre-season which meant he missed a lot of training and then on the eve of the season he got the flu and missed about four or five days of training.
“But a little bit last week and definitely this week, his buzz and his energy and his fitness and feel for the game is back. “There some really good signs Charlie was on the way back so I expect him to build on that.”
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