A move into Gold Coast’s forward line could be the key to ensuring teenager Jaeger O’Meara avoids burnout in the final weeks of his debut AFL season.

That’s the opinion of teammate David Swallow, who believes the club’s injury worries have played a role in the 19-year-old O’Meara not getting the rest he’s deserved at times this year.

O’Meara has been an ever-present for the Suns in 2013 and coach Guy McKenna has already admitted he may need to have his game-time or positioning “manipulated” in the club’s final four matches of the campaign.

Swallow believes giving O’Meara a run up front could ease the burden on the Rising Star award front-runner.

“He’s shouldered a lot of work this year,” Swallow told reporters on Monday.

“Bluey’s wanted to rest him at certain times of the year but we’ve had a few injuries and he’s been playing so well.

“If he can go forward a bit in the last four games and try and get a bit of rest he’ll probably play out the rest of the year, but just trying to manage his load as much as they can.”

Swallow will line-up for his 50th AFL match this weekend when the Suns host Melbourne.

The clash with the struggling Demons is just one of at least two winnable fixtures in the Suns’ final games and Swallow said the team is determined to put a solid finish to their breakthrough campaign.

Even last weekend’s defeat against West Coast in a shoot-out at Perth had given the team confidence in their ability to now stand up to most opponents in the competition.

“We’ve shown we can play well at home and in Melbourne, but to go to Perth and be pretty competitive for most of the game was pretty important for the boys,” he said.