Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd is celebrating his 200th game for the club, and Cameron says that Hawks are aware of the impact such a significant milestone can have on a playing group.
“They’re obviously finding out about some new players, but they’ll be very competitive this week,” Cameron said.
“When you’ve got a player of Matthew Boyd’s calibre playing his 200th game, they’ll want to honour him in the right style.
“He’s their captain and the other 21 guys that run out with him on the weekend will want to make his milestone a memorable one.”
The Hawks have won their past five matches by an average of 89 points, with big wins over North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton and Greater Western Sydney propelling the Club to a league-high percentage of 152.65.
When the first ball is bounced on Sunday, however, Cameron says that record is irrelevant.
“We’re expecting a full on attack from the Dogs against us on Sunday,” he said.
“Yes we’re in some good form, but you’re only as good as your last week.
“Last week was good, but this week is a different game and the Dogs have actually played well against Hawthorn at Etihad.
“They’ll be confident going into it but we’re confident that our form has been good as well.”
While milestone-man Boyd celebrates a personal achievement, that won’t be at the forefront of his mind on Sunday.
Instead, the Bulldogs captain will no doubt be focusing on bringing home the four points for the Bulldogs and leading his young brigade of midfield stars.
That young brigade, consisting of Tom Liberatore, Mitch Wallis and Clay Smith has impressed Hawks assistant, Cameron, and says that the Hawthorn midfield need to be ready for a hard, tough game in the middle.
“They’ve got a great mix of experience, and some really good, hard midfielders in Boyd, Griffin and Cross,” he said.
“They’ve got the young brigade of Clay Smith, Liberatore and Wallis all coming through so no doubt there’s a really good mix.
“If our midfield is not there, ready for that battle, then all of a sudden that puts our backs under pressure.
“Preferably, we need the ball going our way, not their way.”
RELATED
Check out a preview of Sunday's match, Looking ahead to Western Bulldogs. View the team who'll take the field for the Hawks. Jarryd Roughead says the Hawks defence will be ready for the Bulldogs' small forwards.
