Cameron has taken over at the helm of the Lions from Mark Mellish, who did not seek reappointment after leading the club to the Pascoe Cup finals the past three seasons.

He will have surgery next week and has therefore been ruled out of playing this year in a big blow to the Lions' on-field hopes.

However, Cameron said the chance to focus simply on coaching should help him do the best job possible.

"I'm going into back surgery next week, so I'm done for the year," Cameron said.

"It'll probably be good just to coach. You always want to play but I can just focus on coaching now."

Cameron said it could be a transition year for the Lions with virtually all of last year's first grade squad unavailable.

He will be assisted by Patrick Hislop, the reigning Pascoe Cup player of the year.

"I did a coaching course last year in Wagga and it's something I've wanted to have a go at. It's probably come a bit earlier (than expected), but I can't wait," he said.

"We had three teams last year and we've tried to again this year, but at the moment it's not looking too promising.

"We've got about 26 to 30 players, but we've lost the majority of our first grade team. We were lucky enough to get the younger guys during their gap year (last year), but now they're off to uni.

"We'll rely on our reserve graders from last year and I've got faith in them. There's some handy players there that could have made first grade this year.

"I've got Pat Hislop as well helping me out, he's mates with most of the young fellas."

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