LAST year Cameron was one of 40 Saints to play a senior game for the season. While his form leading up to his round 22 debut warranted a rookie upgrade, he could have been forgiven for thinking he was back to square one at the start of 2014.

Not only was he back on the rookie list, but the 23-year-old also had a new coach to impress and a host of younger teammates to leapfrog if he was to get another look in.

And so after five games in the VFL in which he was regularly in the best two or three Sandringham players on the ground, Shenton earned another opportunity – and this time he’s made the most of it.

RELATED VIDEO: Shenton elevated

A 10-disposal performance against Carlton was followed by a 22-possession outing against the Gold Coast, which was bettered on Friday night with a further 24 touches and four rebound 50s against Collingwood.

Suddenly, people are starting to take notice of the long-haired defender, who possesses a lethal right boot and line-breaking dash that has the potential to slice opposition team's like a knife.

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“Cam is a great player and it has great that he’s been given this opportunity to really excel,” Billy Longer told SAINTS.com.au on Friday night.

“He’s taken his opportunity… It’s a credit to him and the hard work he’s put in with his pre-season. We are all just really proud of him.”

VIDEO: Billy Longer post-game

And the admiration hasn’t stopped there, with Shenton’s captain and coach praising the 2012 Norwood recruit’s seamless transition up to the elite level.

“Cam was really solid down back and every time the ball went in his direction, you felt confident that he was going to win his one-on-one. He’s improved a lot in the last month and playing at the senior level he looks comfortable now,” Nick Riewoldt said on Saturday morning.

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Alan Richardson echoed the skipper’s thoughts and labelled Shenton’s performance as one of the few upsides in St Kilda’s 86-point loss to Nathan Buckley’s men.

“We thought Shenton was a real positive for us off half-back,” the first-year coach said.

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While Shenton’s inclusion in the senior team eventuated off the back of some significant injuries to fellow defenders, VFL coach Simon McPhee suggested that an opportunity would have come his way regardless.

"He’s been playing good footy for Sandringham for quite a while,” McPhee said in last week’s VFL mid-season review.

“He’s attacking, aggressive and takes the game on. It’s great to see him take the jump to the senior team.”