The 24-year-old booted 43 goals in 17 games for Norwood in 2011 as an agile marking forward but has crafted a niche for himself at St Kilda as a running half-back, debuting in 2013 and playing a further 13 in 2014.
VIDEO FEATURE: Shenton's debut
While he enjoyed his spell as a goal kicker, and still possesses the ability to push forward, Shenton believes his best footy is played behind the footy.“I’ve really enjoyed playing at half-back and am stoked to have signed on with the club,” Shenton told SAINTS.com.au.
“I think that rebounding role suits me, but if I can increase my fitness over the summer I’m hoping I can push up the ground.”
RELATED: The rapid rise of Cameron Shenton
Shenton was one of the most consistent performers for St Kilda’s VFL affiliate Sandringham this year, averaging 19.3 disposals in his seven games for the Zebras.His best senior outing was against Collingwood in round 11, collecting a career-high 24 touches and taking six marks in the loss.
RELATED: WIN with #SaintsFutureFest
This performance re-affirmed Shenton’s talents – attributes that excite Alan Richardson.“Cameron is a terrific one-on-one player,” Richardson told SAINTS.com.au.
“He reads the game well, has a great dash of speed, and isn’t afraid to take the contest on.
“It was impressive that he played more than half the season in the AFL team this year, and it didn’t really matter what role we asked him to perform – his endeavour and work ethic was always of the highest quality.”
VIDEO: Shenton's long-range goal
Shenton is the 16th St Kilda player to sign on as part of #SaintsFutureFest, a blitz which has seen a raft of future stars re-commit to the club ahead of the 2015 season..jpg)
While he turned 24 on Grand Final day and is older than the rest of his #SaintsFutureFest counterparts, the South Australian product remains steadfast in his belief that good times aren’t too far away and that he will be around when the wheel turns.
“I can see all of the young guys working really hard to improve,” he said.
“The club has shown great faith in all of us, and it’s now up to blokes like myself, Jack Newnes and Brodie Murdoch to repay the favour and make it our business to get the club back up the ladder.
“I’m really excited about the future because I know how dedicated this group is and how much we want it.”
VIDEO: Shenton Press Pass
And Shenton understands what success looks like, having played in a Grand Final and a preliminary final in his final two years at Norwood.Since his departure, the SANFL club has won three consecutive flags, a fact not lost on the quietly spoken Shenton.
“I’ve been pretty proud to see them win three in a row. But I made the decision with my girlfriend to commit to an AFL career three years ago and I feel like it’s really only starting to get underway.”
St Kilda Head of Football Chris Pelchen said Shenton brought versatility and a high work ethic to the St Kilda team.
"Cam has made continued improvement during 2014 with several impressive performances at AFL level," he said.
"His ability to play on both shorter and taller opponents provides great flexibility to the team and his outstanding application to training was a real example for other players to follow. We look forward to his ongoing development next year."
So far the following players have been part of #SaintsFutureFest:
