The importance of life after football isn’t lost on Brisbane Lions star Charlie Cameron.
Growing up on Mornington Island and leaving for Brisbane to pursue further education, the 27-year-old was drafted to the Adelaide Crows in 2014.
Learning his craft from future hall of famer, Eddie Betts, Cameron quickly became a crowd favourite with his electrifying pace and innate goal sense.
And while his wish to return home to Queensland was granted in 2018, the emerging challenge of COVID-19 has hampered his ability to return home.
Spending Tuesday in Mount Isa visiting local schools and the vaccination centre, the goal-kicking superstar was welcomed back with open arms.
In a humbling experience for Cameron, he said it could be easy to get stuck in a rut as an Indigenous kid in a remote community.
"I left Mornington Island as a teenager to pursue schooling at Marist College Ashgrove in Brisbane before I travelled to Western Australia to work in mining, and it was there that I got into AFL," he said.
"I was 18 when I started so I was a late bloomer.
"It's been a tough road but I'm thankful for the upbringing I had and the lessons it's taught me.
"If I could tell these kids one thing it would be to make the most of the opportunities that come your way, take a chance because you never know where it could lead you."