Hart becomes a Warrior

Ante Skoko congratulates Cameron after his first game for the Warriors.

Cameron Hart is set to make his first team debut for North Geelong Warriors this weekend after setting the club on fire with two startling performances in the last fortnight. Hart’s debut, set tongues wagging as the former Gambier Centrals star scored after just four minutes. Hart, who after a short stint at the Gambier City Sharks moved to Gambier Centrals as a nine year old.
Hart was spotted in Melbourne during the trials for the reality television show “Football Superstar” by Ante Skoko brother of Mount Gambier’s only Socceroo Josip Skoko on the invitation of The Round Ball’s Scott Dickson and Gambier Centrals President Shane Dycer couldn’t be happier for his former star. “As a club we are delighted for Cameron. He has worked hard and deserves this opportunity”. “We are keen to see our players progress and play at the highest level, the season is only at its halfway point and we have Cameron in the first team at North Geelong, Thomas Renzi made the top 15 in Football Superstar and our under 15 boys took part in the Manchester United Cup at the start of the year in Adelaide. We are doing well in all grades and this link with North Geelong can only strengthen our standing in the Football Family”.
Hart signed for Centrals as an under 11 and even at that young age his ability with the soccer ball was evident. Hart went on to score over 50 goals in his first season at the club. In 2002 Hart went on to win the first of his three consecutive under 14 best and fairest awards as well as league player of the year in 2003 and 2004. Hart then took out the under 17 best and fairest awards at Centrals in 2006 and 2007 with 2006 marking his debut in the senior squad. “Cameron made a huge impact as a 15 year old. I was amazed by the way Hart played the ball against players who were more seasoned both physically and mentally”. He was a vital part of the Western Border side that dominated both State and Country Championships, toured England with the under 14 state squad and was integral to the success of the Grant High School Specialist Program that competed in four state finals in a row and toured Queensland in 2005.
At Centrals Hart went on to finish second in the clubs A Grade medal count at 16, become vice captain in his first senior year, win the Dickson/De Tot award for Inspiration in 2006 and return from injury in 2008 to play an integral role in Centrals cup victory over International. In his nine years at Bishop Road Cameron played in the 2004 under 14 and 2006 under 17 Premiership wins, three Top Four Cup wins and five end of season cup victories.
The fact that Hart has followed the same path of Mount Gambier’s finest soccer export Josip Skoko is no coincidence and has not been missed by followers of the round ball. “Josip played at Bishop Road and then moved to Geelong and played for North Geelong, that is the same path that Cameron has now made” commented Director of The Round Ball, Scott Dickson. “We are very fortunate to have the support of Josip and his family and they are very keen to help out. I invited Ante, Josip’s brother to attend the Football Superstar trials and support the boys and when they saw Cameron they were keen to see some more. They were very impressed with all three boys we took over to the trials and have been very helpful in offering support to The Round Ball. We have made several trips to Geelong and they have provided a great deal of coaching support for our programs” Dickson added.
The transfer of Hart has the potential to benefit all those associated with him as the credit for his talents looks set to be rewarded by his new club “Cameron is a very good player and we are delighted that he has signed. We are keen to forge a relationship with Gambier Centrals and look forward to this developing. As for The Round Ball we cannot speak more highly of their work. We will support them in any way we can. We have a wide range of connections in the world of football and they are now all at the disposal of Scott and his coaching staff. We have attended his training sessions and observed his squads, they are very, very good and we look forward to working with them again” stated North Geelong Warriors committee member Ante Didulica.
“As far as Cameron is concerned we are very happy with his progress, he made a dream start in the reserves scoring in the first four minutes and played well. He is training with our elite development squad under the guidance of Ante Skoko and if he continues to perform the way he is going at the moment he will force his way into the seniors. The rest is up to Cameron, he has the potential to do very well and at this stage is exceeding the expectations we had of him” Ante Didulica concluded.