Jaeger O'Meara shed a tear as his trade from Hawthorn to Fremantle went through on Wednesday evening, a little more than 48 hours after the prospect of leaving the Hawks was first raised. 
 
It was a "bittersweet" moment for the midfielder, who never considered he might be wearing a purple Fremantle polo come Thursday when he attended close friend Stephen Coniglio's wedding on Monday. 
 
But an inquiry from Greater Western Sydney and a discussion with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell was enough to convince O'Meara that exploring a move might be wise, even if he only had two days to do it. 

"It was a strange moment when the deal went through yesterday. There was a lot of excitement about that, but I cried a little bit because you're leaving so many good people behind," O'Meara said on Thursday. 
 
"It came really abruptly for me, so you don't get to say goodbye to those people. I've got a lot of close friends inside and outside footy in Melbourne that I have to say goodbye to. 
 
"It's been a little bit bittersweet for me, but I woke up this morning, the sun was shining, and it felt really good to be home. 
 
"It's not often you only have 48 hours to decide what you're doing with your life for the next four years, but here we are and I'm really happy to be at Freo."

O'Meara's move was sparked by a phone call to Hawthorn from GWS football manager Jason McCartney, who saw the former Gold Coast midfielder mingling with Giants players at Coniglio's wedding and decided he would be a good fit at the club. 
 
Fremantle's interest was then relayed to O'Meara by his manager Tom Petroro and a conversation followed with Mitchell, who expressed the potential benefit to both parties if a trade was arranged.     
 
"I went to bed that night with my head racing and woke up the next morning and had to do a fair bit of due diligence and thinking to do," O'Meara said.  
 
"The discussions with Sam were that this can potentially work for both parties if you'd like to explore it. 
 
"But then he also said that if you decide not to go down this track, you'll be welcome with open arms if you do want to come back. 
 
"For me, him not begging me to stay probably painted a little picture of where I was at and where I fit into that team. I felt that was a good sign that I should explore this option."
 
The attraction of Fremantle was two-fold, with O'Meara planning to return to Perth at some stage but also excited by the team's potential as a finalist in 2023 and premiership contender. 
 
Knee injuries plagued the early stages of his career, but the imposing onballer was confident he had good football ahead of him, helping a young midfield that includes stars Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong. 
 
"It's still a discussion to be had with Justin (Longmuir), but initial discussions are I'll be helping those guys out in the midfield and playing a little bit forward," O'Meara said. 
 
"But I'm really eager to help those guys as much as I can … and hopefully we're premiership teammates in the next few years. 
 
"I know I'm 28 years old and turning 29 next year, but I feel a lot younger than that. This is going to be a really good challenge for me and I'm feeling refreshed by it and excited.”

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