Hawthorn would be feeling good now about Jaeger O’Meara trade

IT was dubbed a “disastrous” trade at the time but Hawthorn is now being lauded for the risky but brave deal that secured Jaeger O’Meara.

Jaeger O’Meara celebrates Hawthorn’s win over Melbourne with David Mirra and Jarryd Roughead. Picture: Getty Images

IT was meant to blow up in the club’s face.

When Hawthorn off-loaded two club champions and sold the farm in draft picks for Jaeger O’Meara it was seen as a huge risk, if not crazy.

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes dubbed the move an outright bust, declaring the “disastrous” move one of the worst trades of all time.

The Hawks handed over one first-round pick and two second-round selections for a bloke who could have never played again.

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But over the past month, the tide may have turned against this luckless footballer.

On Sunday, O’Meara played his best game in four years in Hawthorn’s commanding 67-point win over Melbourne at the MCG.

Crucially, the club is confident fitness guru Andrew Russell has solved the curious case of O’Meara’s problematic knee mid last-year, touch wood.

In a nutshell, the problem turned out to be in a different spot to where O’Meara was feeling pain, which is why the Hawks were scratching their heads about his ongoing issues in the early part of last season.

Jaeger O’Meara kicks a goal against Melbourne to the delight og teammate Liam Shiels. Picture: AAP

But his pre-season campaign was flawless, and he is again running at full tilt, pain-free.

And while we have lauded the form of his onball sidekick and Brownlow Medal fancy Tom Mitchell, the slow build of the former Rising Star winner over the first four rounds might yet be equally significant.

Certainly, Hawthorn thinks so.

To this point, O’Meara has flown under the radar in April, averaging 24 possessions a game this season.

Hawthorn great and former Brisbane list manager Peter Schwab said the deal was beginning to look good.

“It was a calculated gamble but at this stage it looks like it will pay off because he is just getting better and better every time he plays,” Schwab said.

“You’ve got to be brave as a footy club.

“The doubt was never on his ability, it was purely around the medical side of things.

“And that’s still an issue because if it doesn’t work it’s costly for them, but that’s what happens in drafting and trading, you’ve got to show some courage and make a call.

“And maybe that’s a little bit easier for Clarko to some degree because of his record and maybe they have a little bit more leeway than most.

“But you’ve still got to do it.”

O’Meara goes on the attack against the Demons last Sunday. Picture: AAP

Heading into Sunday’s clash against North Melbourne, the classy ball winner is ranked equal 11th in the league for contested possessions (average 13 a game) and equal ninth for centre clearances (three).

And he is still only 24 years old.

While his knee will require ongoing management, you cannot doubt the impact he is having.

You saw it on Sunday as he sprinted past five Melbourne players from the centre of the ground to kick a goal off the ground in the third term.

We know he is classy, but on this occasion he showed genuine leg speed.

And the league clearances numbers tell a story, too.

For all the furore over the departures of Sam Mitchell (retired) and Jordan Lewis (Melbourne) two years ago, Hawthorn lead the competition in clearances.

So whatever Mitchell and O’Meara have got going inside the engine room, it’s clearly working for the 3-1 Hawks.

The Ferrari we saw carve up the competition in his first season is clearly changing up the gears again.

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