Midfielder Jaeger O’Meara is now a Fremantle Docker as Fremantle also traded Lloyd Meek to Hawthorn and Rory Lobb to the Western Bulldogs in the final minutes of the Continental Tyres Trade Period on Wednesday.

In a trade with the Western Bulldogs, Fremantle received pick 30 and their future second round pick in exchange for Lobb.

In a trade with Hawthorn, Fremantle received O’Meara and a future fourth round selection in exchange for Meek and the future second round pick received from the Bulldogs, with the Hawks paying a portion of O’Meara’s 2023 salary.

The Dongara-born O’Meara has ties with Fremantle going back to 2011 where he trained with the Club as an AIS player, before he was recruited by the Gold Coast Suns as a 17-year-old in the 2011 mini draft.

He played 44 games for the Suns, where he won the 2013 Rising Star award, and played a further 99 games for Hawthorn between 2017 and 2022.

O’Meara joined the Hawks leadership group in 2019 and was named one of their vice captains in 2020. He stood in as captain in 2022 when captain Ben McEvoy was injured, juggling the role with James Sicily.

The 28-year-old played 21 games in 2022 in the midfield, with his best game coming against Fremantle where he had 30 disposals, nine clearances, seven tackles and a goal.

Meek departs after playing 15 games through his five years at the Club, drafted at no.69 in 2017.

The 24-year-old took another step up in 2022 but struggled for opportunity to lead the ruck behind Sean Darcy.

Instead, he excelled for Peel in the WAFL, winning the Thunder’s best and fairest despite only playing 15 of a possible 20 games.

Head of Player Personnel David Walls thanked Meek for his dedication to the Club and welcomed O’Meara to Fremantle.

“It’s a bittersweet day seeing Lloyd depart, but the fact that we were able to secure a player like Jaeger in the trade shows how highly Lloyd is rated by both us and Hawthorn,” Walls said.

“Lloyd feels ready to press his claim to lead the ruck at AFL level, so we understood his desire to seek a trade. In his five years at Fremantle, he’s shown nothing but dedication to the cause and we thank him for his efforts for both Fremantle and Peel.

“We are thrilled to add Jaeger to our midfield mix. He’s 28 and brings valuable leadership and experience to our list.

“His talent is undoubted, and he’s shown incredible adversity to bounce back and play regular football after sustaining a significant knee injury early in his career.

“Freo fans will be well aware of Jaeger’s abilities after watching him at Optus Stadium earlier this year. He’s also a great defensive midfielder, averaging five tackles a game, which is a trait we highly value in our midfield.”

The contracted Lobb requested a trade to the Western Bulldogs this trade period, but Fremantle expressed an unwillingness to part with the 207cm forward/ruck who kicked 36 goals in 2022.

Lobb arrived at Fremantle after the 2018 season in a trade with GWS, and played 66 games over four seasons.

Walls said the offer from the Bulldogs, plus Fremantle’s other acquisitions this trade period, allowed the Club to feel more comfortable making the deal.

“Rory had a great season this year, and as we have said previously, a player of his calibre with his athletic attributes is quite rare,” Walls said.

“We think the Bulldogs offer of two second round selections represented fair value, and we were happy to execute Rory’s request and add significantly to our draft hand.

“With the additions of Josh Corbett and Luke Jackson this trade period, we feel we are able to cover the loss of Rory as our young key forwards Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy develop.

“We’re very excited about the players Jye and Josh in particular can develop into, and this trade presents an opportunity for them to make that step up in 2023.

“We thank Rory for his efforts and dedication to our cause this season, especially considering his desire to move to Melbourne with his partner to be with family.”

FREMANTLE DRAFT HANDS
2022: 30, 44, 67, 76
2023: 2nd round (North Melbourne priority), 3rd round (North Melbourne priority), 3rd round (Carlton), 4th round (North Melbourne), 4th round (Hawthorn)

FREMANTLE LIST CHANGES
TRADED IN: Luke Jackson, Josh Corbett, Jaeger O’Meara (all primary list)
TRADED OUT: Griffin Logue, Darcy Tucker, Blake Acres, Rory Lobb, Lloyd Meek (all primary list)
RETIRED: David Mundy (primary list)
DELISTED: Joel Western (primary list), Connor Blakely (rookie list)