Sunday’s first AFL Round 9 match is between Hawthorn Hawks and Gold Coast Suns with the game to be played at the MCG. The opening bounce is set to commence at 1:10pm local time with home team Hawthorn Hawks currently holding long odds on favouritism. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Hawthorn Hawks and Gold Coast Suns.
WHERE AND WHEN: MCG, Sunday 26th May, 1:10pm
Preview:
It’s Hawthorn vs Gold Coast at the MCG, Sunday at 1.10PM. This game is up there with the GWS vs West Coast in terms of most uneven match-up. With Hawthorn in great goal scoring form at the moment, the score in this match could even be bigger. While the Suns are playing OK at the moment and just made history by winning two in a row, they will be unable to compete with a Hawthorn side fresh on top of the ladder.
Teams:
Hawthorn Hawks:
B: Ben Stratton, Brian Lake, Brent Guerra
HB: Sam Mitchell, Josh Gibson, Grant Birchall
C: Isaac Smith, Luke Hodge, Liam Shiels
HF: Paul Puopolo, Lance Franklin, Jordan Lewis
F: Jack Gunston, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Breust
Foll: Max Bailey, Brad Sewell, Shaun Burgoyne
Int (from): Kyle Cheney, Michael Osborne, Taylor Duryea, Sam Grimley, Matt Spangher, Jonathan Simpkin, Bradley Hill
In: J.Gibson, K.Cheney, S.Grimley, B.Hill
Out: D.Hale (ankle)
Gold Coast Suns:
B: Trent McKenzie, Jack Hutchins, Danny Stanley
HB: David Swallow, Rory Thompson, Tom Murphy
C: Matt Shaw, Gary Ablett, Jarrod Harbrow
HF: Greg Broughton, Tom Lynch, Jesse Lonergan
F: Campbell Brown, Steven May, Aaron Hall
Foll: Sam Day, Jaeger O’Meara, Dion Prestia
Int (from): Jared Brennan, Tom Nicholls, Kyal Horsley, Luke Russell, Daniel Gorringe, Joel Wilkinson, Brandon Matera
In: T.Murphy, K.Horsley, J.Wilkinson, T.Nicholls, D.Gorringe
Out: Z.Smith (knee), H.Bennell (hamstring)
Suns young gun O’Meara aiming high
Gold Coast teenager Jaeger O’Meara has no problem being touted as the AFL’s next big thing, because that’s exactly where he wants to one day be.
The 18-year-old Suns midfielder has been so impressive in his debut campaign that after eight games there’s already comparisons with Chris Judd, Joel Selwood and his club captain Gary Ablett.
And while O’Meara knows he’s not at that level yet, there’s no doubt in his mind that aspiring to greatness is perfectly reasonable.
“I’d like to impact more on games,” O’Meara told reporters on Thursday.
“I’m not impacting in the way that guys like Gary Ablett are. I’ve got a lot of work to do to get to that level but that’s the level I want to get to.
“I’ll keep working to do that.”
O’Meara is, by his own admission, a hard marker and he only now says he’s starting to feel like he belongs as an AFL footballer.
That’s despite averaging over 20 possessions and a goal a game in his short career so far and forming a strong midfield partnership with 2009 Brownlow medallist Ablett.
It’s a key reason why the Suns are 4-4 and enjoying their best season in the club’s short history.
Numbers, however, count for little for O’Meara.
“It’s important not to look at statistics,” he said.
“It doesn’t really matter if you get 26 disposals or 10, you’ve got to make sure every disposal counts.
“I think that’s something I’ve learnt off Gary Ablett, he just takes pride in every disposal. I know I had a few miss-kicks myself at the weekend and I was pretty annoyed at myself for that.”
And while he’s usually level-headed and mature beyond his years, there’s the glint of the kid inside when mention is made of this weekend’s upcoming clash with a star-studded Hawthorn line-up at the MCG.
“It’s a big stage,” he said.
“I know we played Sydney at the SCG earlier on in the year but the Hawks, on a big stage, is probably the biggest game I’ll have played in so far.”
