JAEGER MASTER OF THE COMEBACK
A MIDFIELD masterclass by Jaeger O’Meara pulled Hawthorn’s season back from the brink as the Hawks scraped home in a five-point thriller against Carlton with a blistering second half in Launceston yesterday.
Hampered by injury last year and struggling to find his best form, O’Meara was back to his brilliant best in the Hawks 13.15 (93) 13.10 (88) win.
O’Meara gathered 43 possessions and was the best player on the ground.
Hawthorn was humbled in the first half and a 3-3 win-loss return looked likely. But the second was a brown and gold avalanche, with the Hawks piling on 10.12 to 5.6 after half-time.
Carlton opened its assault with a 6.3 to 2.3 first quarter and improved its margin to 31 points by half-time but Hawthorn came out firing in the third quarter.
Carlton had a late chance when the ball was marked inside 50m only seconds after the final siren, robbing them of a shot at goal for victory after the siren.