The guidance of fellow small forward Eddie Betts has played a significant role in preparing Charlie Cameron for his AFL debut on Thursday night.

The dangerous duo will line up together to terrorise the Magpie defence in front of a sold-out crowd at Adelaide Oval in the Round Nine opener.

But the role of Betts in grooming the raw 19-year-old into the impressive young man he is today cannot be understated.

“He’s living at home with me at the moment, which is great,” Betts said.

“He’s different, but he’s good. He’s very switched on, he’s very smart and he likes to learn.”

Cameron was selected by Adelaide from Western Australian club Swan Districts in the 2013 AFL Rookie Draft. Betts took it upon himself to ensure the young Crow felt he belonged in Adelaide after the relocation away from family and friends.

Betts said the mentoring role came naturally to him, as he recalls how difficult it was leaving loved ones in Port Lincoln to pursue a football career in his teenage years.

“I’m used to it, because I know when I came across (to Victoria) I was homesick,” Betts said. 

“I thought that if I could help him not feel homesick and bring him into a home where he can be himself. I like doing that sort of stuff and mentoring the younger kids.”

In addition to the many off-field life lessons, Cameron could do little better than to absorb Betts’ on-field wisdom as well. Betts has arguably been the competition’s premier small forward in the past decade and the 27-year-old said Cameron has all the tools to make his own mark on the AFL.

“He’s one of those players where his natural ability is his speed and his closing speed,” Betts said.

“He loves to tackle, and he doesn’t back down for the little, skinny unit that he is. He doesn’t back down no matter how big they are, so he’s a pretty fiery little man.”