He conceded almost 21cm in height, but Jaeger O’Meara didn’t shy away from the challenge as he accepted a friendly one-on-one basketball game with Opals star, Liz Cambage. 

Two of Australia’s youngest sporting phenomenons met for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, as the Australian Opals basketball team and Gold Coast SUNS players O’Meara, Sam Day, Tom Lynch and Harley Bennell engaged in a skill swapping session at Carrara’s indoor sports complex.

A junior basketball jet, Day showed he was no stranger to the Spalding, knocking down mid-range jumpers and three-pointers with ease.

View the photo gallery of the Australian Opals visit

Lynch and Harley also impressed with their ability to handle the basketball, but it was the 2013 AFL Rising Star that was given the unenviable task of guarding the 2^nd overall pick of the 2011 WNBA Draft. 

He did his best to utilise his quickness and agility on the perimeter, but O’Meara’s smaller statute was simply no match for Cambage’s 6’8” frame, with the Zhejiang Chouzhou marquee player locking down the paint. 

Gold Coast’s star midfielder did successfully release a mid-range jumper that found nothing but net, much to his delight.

“She’s a lot taller than me so she’s got that advantage, but I hit a three pointer against her so I’m pretty happy with that,” O’Meara said.

Although a promising basketball player during his teenage years, O’Meara says his passion for football eventually won out.

“I played a little bit growing up, but gave it away when I was 16 so I could start focusing on footy,” he said.

Impressed with his shot-making ability, Cambage spoke highly of her tough match-up. 

“He used to play back in the day which I wasn’t aware of but it was good fun,” she said.

“I didn’t dunk it on him (as) I didn’t want to hurt myself; I thought I’d let him keep a bit of dignity.”