Late in his teens, Cameron’s parents moved to the Pilbara mining camp of Newman in Western Australia. There was no rugby there, so he started playing for the local Australian rules team, the Saints. He’d only played a handful of games, but he was quickly noticed and picked up by Swan Districts in the WAFL, before the Crows drafted him as a rookie in 2013.

Lions football manager David Noble, then at the Crows, saw his first game for the Swans. His first impressions were striking. “[He] was a really highly charged, energetic small forward that just loved tackling. He loved the combative side of the game. And when we got to meet him it was his infectious nature that really resonated with you.”

He describes Cameron’s contribution to the Lions’ growth in his nine games, on field and off, as “substantial, internally. He’s always got a smile, he’s cheeky, engaging, and at the same time he’s a little bit shy. As he’s become comfortable in our environment, getting to learn more about his teammates, he’s having more to say.”

Cameron is indeed shy, but his manner is easy and friendly. His biggest motivation for returning to Queensland is his island home, Mornington. “That place is pretty special to me,'' he says. ''It’s a little, remote community, we’d just go fishing and stuff, and I want to try to get back there, see all my family. I’m hoping to get back in the off-season break.”

He’s now played 82 senior games, jagging a very respectable 104 goals, and says he’s still learning the caper. “I’m sort of adapting to it, getting used to the game. For me, not knowing much of the rules and stuff, that side of things, I’m still learning about that, but everything else, I just play footy, just reacting off other players.”

This doesn’t mean Cameron is uncoachable – he’s quite the opposite – but he is a natural footballer who plays largely on instinct. That mark over Gardiner, his teammate, was an example: he just wanted the ball. “Either you’re in the intuition bucket or you’re in the instinct bucket, and he’s definitely in that instinct bucket,” Noble says.

“He’s an instinctive ball-getter, there’s no doubt about that. And he’s learning more about the game, but he has a really good feel. His intuition in regards to being selfless and providing leads that open up different holes for other players is really good.”

Indeed, like Eddie Betts, whom he played alongside in Adelaide – perhaps obscuring his own remarkable ability – Cameron can be unselfish to a fault. Against Hawthorn, he marked on the edge of the goal square and, thinking the umpire would pull him around on a tight angle, he squared the ball to his captain, Dayne Beams, when he didn’t need to.

In the coach’s box, Fagan said he couldn’t bear to watch Beams’ shot, which thankfully went through. But that’s Cameron. He takes risks, with aggressive field kicks that split the play open and bring teammates into the game. If he misses the target, the result can be a goal to the opposition. But the rewards are high too, and he’s worked hard at his skills.

Cameron is only 23, and the Lions don’t have many players in that age bracket. To that end, he’s helping fill a void, and already an emerging leader of a very young group. But it also makes you think. It took Betts time – and a second club – to reveal the full extent of his genius. How high might Cameron's ceiling be?

Maybe ask Darcy Gardiner, still rubbing his head. Or Noble, who says the Lions are thinking of renaming part of the Gabba after him.

“Adelaide have got Eddie’s pocket," Noble says. "And Charlie’s exciting. He stands for a lot of things that we want to be. He’s selfless, he’s competitive, and he loves kicking goals and entertaining, so why can’t we have Charlie’s Corner at the Gabba?”