IT WAS a moment which instantly shattered an arm. But it also cracked something bigger - the momentum of a Grand Final as well as the foundations of the following season.
Nine months and one week on from the break suffered by Jeremy Cameron in a collision with teammate Patrick Dangerfield late in the second quarter of the 2025 Grand Final, the consequences are playing out adversely for Geelong.
>> ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND OPINION FROM DAMIAN BARRETT
Cameron, physically, is nowhere near 100 per cent in 2026 - his percentage might be as low as 60 per cent – and he has clearly been operating through pain and uncertainty caused by that break to the right arm, which now carries a plate and a long scar after an operation conducted three days after the Grand Final.
More procedures will be performed on Cameron's arm when the season ends. But until then, he will continue to play with severe discomfort, fully trusting of the club's medical team which has analysed dozens of scans and ensured him that by playing he is not risking further damage.
ROUND 18 Get your seats to Giants v Cats
Some days, and matches, are more painful than others for Cameron. Sometimes the pain in a match is at an extreme only seconds after barely being there. He has unfortunately learnt that there is no sure way on match day to eradicate the discomfort when it comes. Which understandably plays with his mind, particularly when there is a requirement to contest a pack mark, knowing that previous attempts at doing so sent pain levels to the extreme end of the dial.
Cameron is old school, a subscriber to the "if you cross the line, there are no excuses" footy mantra. He does not want, nor has he sought, sympathy as he has braved 15 of the Cats' 16 matches this year.
Ten of the 39 goals he has kicked this year came against Western Bulldogs in round six, and even with his arm problems, he sits equal fourth on the Coleman Medal leaderboard, seven behind leader Ben King.
But Cameron, the Cat, of 2026 has not been the Cameron of 2021-25, and in the past five matches he has seemingly permanently looked uncomfortable, which has coincided with Geelong losing four of those five games and now being vulnerably placed as it pushes for a finals double chance.
Cameron managed just two kicks against Brisbane in round 17, and his confidence may be as low as at any stage of his stellar 15-season, 775-goal career with Geelong and GWS. But there are no plans for him to be rested from matches in the run to September.
When Geelong medicos assessed Cameron at half-time of last year's Grand Final, the Cats and Lions were tied on the scoreboard.
Cameron played on, even after the official diagnosis of a break, and extraordinarily had the courage to apply an effective rundown, one-arm tackle of Jaspa Fletcher, which led to a spilled ball before Max Holmes took a mark and kicked a goal which put the Cats one point up halfway through the third quarter.
Cameron may have used his working left arm to tackle Fletcher, but he landed excruciatingly heavily on his already shattered right arm and missed the remainder of the third quarter as the Lions opened up a match-securing lead.
Again in a display of pure courage, he returned to play in the fourth quarter but like many teammates had no impact as the Lions surged to a 47-point win.
In 2025, Cameron earned a fifth All-Australian selection and was named captain of that team after 83 goals (he also kicked five goals from two completed finals) in the home-and-away season. Pre-broken arm, Cameron was at his football peak.
With seven home-and-away matches remaining this season, the out-of-form Cats still hope to win the premiership. From here, everything loops back to one right arm.