By Amelia Barnes
If you’re a netballer in the Geelong region, you know the name Olivia Cameron. Since making her A grade debut in 2005, Cameron has played more than 350 senior games in the red, white, and blue South Barwon dress, including every grand final from 2007 to 2016 – six of which resulted in premierships.
Until 2024, the only accolade that eluded her was winning a Victorian Netball League (VNL) title, having previously played in the state league for former team VU-Western Lightning, and later Geelong Cougars.
That all changed when City West Falcons coach Marg Lind called asking if Cameron could play a few matches for their Championship division side – 10 years after her last VNL appearance, and 20 years since her debut.
Filling in for Uneeq Palavi who had joined Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) as a replacement player for the Melbourne Mavericks, Cameron applied her crafty play in the goal attack bib to help Falcons to their third consecutive VNL title in 2024.
It was déjà vu when Lind called upon Cameron to play for Falcons this year. What was again only meant to be a short stint turned into a season-long campaign, concluding in a thrilling comeback to win the VNL grand final by two goals.
When her team were nine goals behind in the third quarter, Cameron admits thinking, “I’m too old for this” but she was an integral force in the win and was named player of the match.
Back home, Cameron’s legendary status has been recently cemented with the Geelong FNL A Grade Netball Grand Final Best on Court award being named in her honour.
The inaugural award was presented to Charity Nasalio – Cameron’s Falcons teammate who collected a crucial pickup in the final seconds of the VNL grand final to ultimately secure the win – making the occasion all the more special. “She’s just amazing,” said Cameron of Nasalio.
Now 36, Cameron credits her long and successful netball playing career to her love of the game and minimal injuries – save for one broken finger.
“There was one game down at Colac where I broke my finger and had the bone come through the skin. I had to come off during that and ended up in the hospital, so I had the following week off, and then I played the week after that.”
Cameron took a year off from the game when she had her daughter Maggie, now eight, but was fortunate to return to netball smoothly as a mother. This year, she supported Falcons teammate Madelyn Romios do the same by sharing the goal attack bib throughout the season.
Playing for City West Falcons has been a career highlight for Cameron who continues to grow as an athlete under the coaching of Marg Lind, Jacinta Todd, and Alexia McConnell.
“It's been like nothing I've ever experienced before… The homework they do to get us prepared for each game is just second to none,” she said. “Playing against them [in the past] you have this little vendetta, but then when you become a part of it, you can just see why they're so successful.”
Cameron is yet to commit to the VNL for 2026 but will continue playing for South Barwon in the Geelong Football Netball League for “as long as the body allows.”
She’s one of the most versatile players in the league, spending much of the 2025 season playing centre, doubling as her team’s assistant coach, and not-so-secretly coveting the wing defence bib where Cameron would love to play if her 169cm stature allowed.
Her only remaining netball goal is eventually taking the court alongside her daughter Maggie, who starts playing netball this month.
“It doesn't matter where we play – it could be Kardinia Park on a Monday night – but it would be great to play with her at South Barwon one day, as Ainsley and Maya Corrigan have done this season,” said Cameron.
“Hopefully one day it would be pretty cool to be putting that [Olivia Cameron] medal around my daughter's neck.”
