The Gold Coasters were forced to dig deep after losing after losing Tom Lynch and Michael Rischitelli to injury with 19-year-old O'Meara amongst the best on ground for the Gold Coast who will now enjoy a well deserved break with a bye next weekend.
The eleven game player finishing the match with an impressive 30 disposals, playing a fantastic supporting role for fellow team mates Gary Ablett and Jarrod Harbrow as the visitors threw everything at the inform Bombers.
Speaking exclusively with goldcoastfc.com.au after the teams 43-point loss to the Bombers, O’Meara said the team would still take plenty of positives away from their gruelling contest.
“Obviously would have been nice to have got the win, but I think the playing group showed a lot in terms of our resilience and character to continue to fight our way through it despite losing Tom Lynch and Michael Rischitelli to injuries,” O’Meara said.
Down by 22-point margin at the half-time break and with a shift in momentum, Gold Coast fans around the country braced themselves for another thrilling finish as the SUNS started to sizzle.
“There was a point mid-way through the third quarter where we were only ten points down, but with a lack of rotations and a few injuries, they eventually just overran us,” he said.
“We’ll certainly still take away confidence from our ability to compete against a legitimate premiership contender, and will be out to build on our strong performance against Adelaide at Metricon Stadium after the mid-season break.”
Essendon Coach James Hird, speaking to channel 7 post match said McKenna’s charges had sent a major scare through the Bomber’s camp mid-way through the third quarter.
“Obviously the Gold Coast has improved substantially in the last eight months,” Hird said.
“They’ve got some very talented players and halfway through the third quarter, where the margin was twelve points, our boys had to dig deep and they did.”
