Jaeger O’Meara is closing in on a return to full fitness, but his rehabilitation from cutting-edge knee surgery won’t be rushed according to Gold Coast SUNS coach Rodney Eade.
 
With round one just around the corner, the temptation is there to inject an underdone O’Meara into a midfield division that now bats much deeper than in previous seasons. But, Eade and the fitness department at Metricon Stadium won’t be seduced by the young midfielder’s movement at training.
 
Ahead of the SUNS' final pre-season fixture on Friday night, Eade told reporters on Thursday morning the 21-year-old had accelerated through his rehabilitation program, jumping over each obstacle put in front of him.
 
“We had really direct guidelines from his surgeon about what his program would look like. That’s been followed to the letter,” Eade said.
 
“The biggest problem has been he’s actually smashed every hurdle along the way.
 
“He hasn’t had any hiccups, he hasn’t been slow in his progress, his has been really quick in his progress.
 
For the majority of last season, the West Australian was unable to train throughout the week due to the ailment. His focus was purely on getting up for the following weekend’s game.
 
Despite O’Meara’s immaculate rehabilitation, the club will be holding the emerging star back to ensure he sufficiently overcomes the patella tendon problem that plagued him throughout 2014.
 
“So it’s actually holding that back to actually stick to the timeframe that the surgeon has given us,” Eade said.
 
“If you look at it fitness wise, he trained yesterday with the main group and he did an extra k and a half than anyone else in the training session itself at high speed.
 
“So he’s just about ready to go, but we’re probably just erring on the side of caution to be honest.”
 
The 2013 Rising Star winner has played every game since debuting in round one of that year, but with his longevity in the game in mind, Eade indicated O’Meara might need some game-time in the NEAFL before returning in the AFL.
 
“I wouldn’t have thought Jaeger would play round one. I think he’d probably need to play a NEAFL game, I think he’d be more confident with that.
 
“But that’s not out of the question he’ll play round one either.”