Two good friends in Jaeger O’Meara and Stephen Coniglio are set to do battle on Saturday when Fremantle take on the Giants at Giants Stadium.
 
The 29-year-olds became good mates coming through the ranks in the WA football scene, and O’Meara was a guest at Coniglio’s wedding following the 2022 season.
 
After a dip in form in recent seasons, Coniglio is arguably playing his best football in 2023, averaging a career-high 28.6 disposals and six clearances per game.
 
O’Meara follows Coniglio’s career closely and knows Freo’s midfield face a tough task to limit his impact.
 
“It’s always funny coming up against him, we always have a bit of a laugh before the game but then he’s just another one of them once the siren goes,” O’Meara said.
 
“I do watch a fair bit of him, he’s been having a really good season but hopefully we can quell his influence a little bit tomorrow.”

O’Meara makes his return after two weeks on the sidelines and will join fellow big-bodied mid Matthew Johnson in the engine room.
 
Johnson stepped up in O’Meara’s absence against Richmond, with 25 disposals, seven clearances and six tackles.
 
“I thought Johnson was really strong, he’s a big inside mid and I thought he rocked up to contests really well,” O’Meara said.
 
“He was quite composed with ball in hand when he was getting tackled, and he laid some really good tackles for us.
 
“I had a quality couple of weeks with the bye and the suspension. I got a few extra k’s in the legs and I’m feeling mentally and physically ready to go.”

The game is just Fremantle's third at Giants Stadium, a ground where O'Meara has played five times in his time with Gold Coast and Hawthorn.

"It’s a bit of a similar setup to (Gold Coast's home ground) which I’ve played a fair bit of footy at and the pockets are quite deep," O'Meara said of the ground.

"You can kick drop punts from the pockets, that’s probably the only real difference of the oval."

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