Hawthorn premiership star Jordan Lewis says he’d consider taking a pay cut to help secure Jaeger O’Meara
FOUR-time Hawthorn premiership star Jordan Lewis says he’d be willing to take a pay cut in order to help secure Gold Coast Suns midfielder Jaeger O’Meara.
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FOUR-time Hawthorn premiership star Jordan Lewis says he’d consider taking a pay cut to help secure Jaeger O’Meara.
The Gold Coast Suns midfielder nominated Hawthorn as his preferred destination, after telling the club he wanted out last month.
While not a free agent, O’Meara is uncontracted beyond 2016.
Lewis indicated that in certain circumstances he’d sacrifice his own pay cheque for the betterment of the club and would be open to the idea if it meant landing O’Meara.
Hawthorn veterans Luke Hodge, Shaun Burgoyne, Sam Mitchell and Josh Gibson have all agreed to pay cuts in order to play on in 2017.
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“If a player was to come in and they strip other players of money, but then that player who’s coming in becomes the highest-paid player at the club, there’s obviously circumstances that you probably would not do it,” Lewis told Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“Clarko has always said, if you become successful as a team, there’s a lot of time post-career to make money.
“So if you can make that sacrifice only minimal throughout your career, it certainly pays dividends post-career.”
Hawthorn is also reportedly chasing Swans midfielder Tom Mitchell, as well as Richmond forward Tyrone Vickery, which may increase the demands on listed players to take pay cuts.
Lewis said while he’d never personally made a financial sacrifice in his time at Hawthorn, rival clubs had offered him greater incentives to jump ship. He could have been making more money elsewhere but chose to stay in order to chase premierships.
As a result, the Hawthorn midfielder said he wouldn’t be entirely comfortable taking a large pay cut to land a star that might be unfairly renumerated.
Despite this, Lewis conceded the idea of running around next to O’Meara in 2017 was tantalising, especially as the club looks to bolster its midfield stocks for the future.
“It’s exciting because he was a quality player until he was cut down with injury,” Lewis said.
O’Meara, 22, has only managed 44 games in four seasons, having last played in 2013.
The highly prized draft pick ruptured his patella tendon on the eve of the 2014 season and hasn’t featured since.
While some camps have questioned O’Meara’s character for wanting out of the Suns, his former coach Guy McKenna told Fox Sports News 500 he owed the club nothing.
“He was a 17-year-old who left Perth to come to the Gold Coast, he’s done all he could for that football club,” McKenna said.
“He can hold his head high walking out of that football club.
“I don’t think Jaeger is coming (to Melbourne) to line his wallet. He wants success and he wants it now. I’m sure he’ll even take a haircut to come to Hawthorn and fit into their system.”
Essendon remains in the box seat to recruit O’Meara through the preseason draft if the Hawthorn deal falls through.
And with McKenna now an assistant coach at the Bombers, O’Meara already has links to the club.
“I’ve got a very vested interest hoping that (Hawthorn) deal doesn’t get done,” McKenna said.
“And I’d say to Jaeger if I bumped into him, ‘the silver medal’s not too bad, mate. You can come to Essendon’. We’re certainly a club on the rise.”
Originally published as Hawthorn premiership star Jordan Lewis says he’d consider taking a pay cut to help secure Jaeger O’Meara
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