Experienced campaigners Greg Broughton and Tom Murphy have both thrown their support behind Jaeger O’Meara prior to him making his AFL debut against St. Kilda this Saturday night, with the hard-working defenders suggesting the super-talented teenager had done the hard yards to earn his spot in the side.

Broughton, who watched O’Meara develop as a 16-year-old at Fremantle’s AIS Academy, is confident the elite youngster will make withstand the rigorous demands of the AFL.

“I saw some super talent when he came to train us with for two weeks,” said Broughton.

“In 12 months he’s put on about 8kgs, and to be so level-headed at that age is just great to see.”

“I have no doubt he’s going to be a great future player for this club.”

After spending time with the West Australian during the GC SUNS high-altitude training camp in Arizona, Murphy said the 19-year-old’s hunger and determination to play AFL footy had taken him by surprise.

“I didn’t know too much about him (Jaeger), but his maturity on and off the field and even physically has blown me away,” said Murphy.

After a series of solid performances through the NAB Cup, Murphy believed the GC SUNS had already shown an increased improvement on-field prior to their season opener against the Saints.

“They’ve got the attributes and talent, and they’ve been putting in the hard work so it’s only a matter of time,” Murphy said.

“Hopefully Saturday night is a good chance for everyone to put their best foot forward.”