Jaeger O’Meara a relieved Hawk after Gold Coast finally agrees to trade
JAEGER O’Meara sat at home in a cold sweat, clasping his mobile phone, without a contingency plan, as his fate lay in the heated discussions high up at Etihad Stadium.
JAEGER O’Meara sat at home in a cold sweat, clasping his mobile phone.
It was beyond lunchtime on the final day of trade period and the career of one of the AFL’s hottest young talents was in limbo.
O’Meara had already called manager Colin Young about 17 times, desperate for updates.
He had no contingency plan, yet to ponder whether to chance the national draft or reluctantly join Essendon as a pre-season selection.
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O’Meara’s fate lay in the heated discussions high up at Etihad Stadium, as Gold Coast and Hawthorn frantically tried to draw in other clubs.
The Suns agreed to trade O’Meara — but only if it received pick 10 and two second-round selections.
Gold Coast demanded one of those be Hawthorn’s future second-rounder, but to trade that, the Hawks first had to acquire somebody else’s, under AFL rules.
Enter Carlton, the saviour.
The Blues were happy to help, and list boss Stephen Silvagni promised the Hawks he would flick them Greater Western Sydney’s future pick as soon as he landed it.
Suddenly, as one man working on the Jaeger trade said, it was “inching forward”.
Problem was, at 1.30pm, Silvagni’s old club — the Giants — was stalling, with so much still to do elsewhere.
But by that stage, Young knew it would get done, and so he texted Jaeger: looking good.
O’Meara wiped the sweat from his forehead and jumped in the shower. He said the tension had made him “too stinky” to arrive at a new job without a wash.
The Blues and Giants did their deal, the Suns nabbed their other second-rounder from a helpful Fremantle and O’Meara was a Hawk.
Both clubs admitted the trade would not have gone through if not for the Blues.
Hawks’ list chief Graham Wright said the last 30 minutes was filled with anxiety — “it was pretty tough”.
Wright quickly called O’Meara and joked beers for Silvagni would’ve been on him last night, if not for Silvagni’s quick escape OS.
Ninety minutes later, O’Meara was unveiled at Waverley, and attention turned to his troublesome knee.
“I’m really confident (in my body),” O’Meara said.
“I’ve had that little bit of (clean-up) surgery about seven to eight weeks ago and after that, it’s feeling really good.”
Round 1 next season will mark almost 950 days since the 2013 Rising Star last played AFL — but Round 1 is his aim.
There are no hard feelings for the Suns, not even outspoken, tough-talking chairman Tony Cochrane.
“Water under the bridge. I’m a Hawthorn player and … I won’t give that too much thought anymore,” he said.
And hearing that must make Hawks fans squawk again.
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Originally published as Jaeger O’Meara a relieved Hawk after Gold Coast finally agrees to trade