Cameron Thurley (born 26 November 1981) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

and the

Kangaroos Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL),

Clarence Football Club The Clarence Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Tasmanian State League, based in Bellerive, Tasmania. Before 1947, they existed as Bellerive Football Club. The Club play their home game ...

in the

Tasmanian Statewide League Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

and the

Tasmanian Devils The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii''; palawa kani: ''purinina'') is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now conf ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

. Thurley played for

in the Statewide League in 2000, where he was dropped for the Grand Final against Northern Bombers. He then joining the Tasmania Devils in the VFL in 2001. He was then drafted by the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Kardinia Park in South Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

in the

2003 AFL draft The 2003 AFL draft was the 2003 instance of the AFL draft, the annual draft (sports), draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. The 2003 d ...

with the 22nd selection. He played in two Wizard Cup Games in 2004 but failed to play a senior match in 2004 as Geelong made a Preliminary Final. He made his AFL debut in 2005, and played in seven games, kicking 12 goals, including four in his second game. He then decided to leave the Cats at the end of the 2005 season and was selected by the

with the seventh selection of the 2006 Pre-season draft. He made his

debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The Debu ...

for the Kangaroos in the opening game of the season, but only managed five games for them before being delisted at the end of the 2006 season. He returned to the Tasmanian Devils in 2007, after his AFL career before moving to the backline in 2008, where he starred, winning their best and fairest award. When the Tasmanian Devils finished in 2008 he returned to the newly formed Tasmanian State League to play with Clarence.Thurley's star shines again
The Mercury He played a major role in helping Clarence to the 2009 TSL Premiership by playing inspiring football, in particular in the preliminary final against Burnie when he took a towering pack mark late in the final quarter. In 2010 Clarence won back to back premiership in the TSL beating Devonport very comfortably at Bellerive Oval in front of crowd of 6,000 plus supporters. Cameron played a star role in the win and dominated from the opening bounce finishing with 35+ possessions and kicking one goal and was awarded the Darrel Baldock Medal as Best On Ground. After accepting his medals on the dias, Cameron grabbed the microphone and famously said “we’re going to paint the town red and white tonight”!!He went on to win the Senior Best & Fairest in 2010 & 2011 and also won leading goal kicker for Clarence in that year. Cameron captained Clarence in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Over his career, Cameron won multiple Team of The Year Awards which included captaining the Team of the Year in 2011 and winning the RACT Media Award in the same year. After a successful AFL career and playing over 100 senior games for Clarence and the Tasmanian Devils, Cameron’s football career was cut short in 2013 after a serious accident falling down a flight of stairs which left him with four brain operations, 22 days in an induced coma, and three months in hospital. With the help of his amazing family and friends and the support of the Tasmanian community, Cameron learnt to walk and talk again. His greatest strength in his recovery was his mental strength, positive mindset, and his determination. cl

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurley, Cameron Geelong Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club players Tasmanian Devils Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Living people 1981 births Clarence Football Club players