Stephen Coniglio wedding detail emerges after Jaeger O'Meara trade
The process of getting Jaeger O'Meara to Fremantle turned out to be a real cat-and-mouse game, that started well before the AFL Trade Period but reached a crescendo at Stephen Coniglio's wedding.
O'Meara, the No.1 pick in the 2011 mini-draft, appeared set to stay at the rebuilding Hawthorn next season until he attended Coniglio's wedding as best man last weekend.
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The wedding was attended by a number of Giants players as well as GWS list manager Jason McCartney, who got in touch with O'Meara's manager, Tom Petroro, the following day.
The Giants, with their sights set on re-tooling their list under incoming head coach Adam Kingsley, felt O'Meara's connections to key players and his leadership qualities would make him an ideal fit.
Unfortunately for the Giants though, it turns out the Dockers had already been in touch regarding O'Meara's availability weeks before the trade period even began.
While at that time, Fremantle list manager David Walls was told by Hawks counterpart Mark McKenzie that O'Meara wouldn't be available, the landscape had changed significantly by the time Coniglio's wedding came around.
The next day (Monday), McCartney reached out to McKenzie with his own enquiries as to O'Meara's availability - which had changed as Hawthorn settled on a rebuild.
Unfortunately for Giants, in the interests of getting the best deal available for the 28-year-old, McKenzie got back in touch with Walls over at Fremantle, remembering their interest from weeks prior.
O'Meara, who hails from Perth and owns a house in Cottesloe with his partner Tory Packer, had felt obligated to see out his contract with Hawthorn but was informed by the club there would be no hard feelings should he leave.
Eventually it was the Dockers who were able to get a deal done for the midfielder following the three-team deal which saw Josh Dunkley move to the Brisbane Lions and Rory Lobb sent to the Western Bulldogs.
That trade proved crucial, with the Dockers able to package a future second round pick acquired in the Lobb deal, along with ruckman Lloyd Meek, in exchange for O'Meara.
It was a weird saga that demonstrated the nigh-on incomprehensible amount of moving parts going into many AFL trades, with O'Meara's deal coming down to the wire.
The 28-year-old has been envisioned as a replacement for retiring Dockers great David Mundy as they look to build on an impressive run to the finals in 2022.
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O'Meara revealed a tough conversation with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell was the tipping point in his decision to pursue an AFL trade move.
"The discussions with Sam were, 'This can potentially work for both parties if you'd like to explore it'," O'Meara told reporters on Thursday.
"But then he also said, 'If you do decide not to go down this track, you're going to be welcomed with open arms if you do want to come back'.
"I guess for me, him not begging me to stay probably paints a little picture of where I was at and where I fit into that team, so I felt like that was a good sign that I should explore this option."
O'Meara attracted interest from GWS and considered taking up an offer that would have united him with close friend Stephen Coniglio.
But a move to Fremantle - and his home state of Western Australia - was ultimately more appealing.
O'Meara had just 48 hours to decide once the options were tabled and admitted he got emotional when the trade was confirmed in the final few minutes before Wednesday's deadline.
"There was a lot of excitement about that but also I'll tell you I cried a little bit because you're leaving so many good people behind and it came really abruptly for me," O'Meara said.
"You don't really get to say goodbye to all those people. I'm sure over the next couple months that I'll be able to do that.
"I've got a lot of close friends inside and outside of footy in Melbourne that I have to say goodbye to, so it's been a little bit bittersweet for me."
With AAP
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