Quietly spoken West Australian Jaeger O'Meara is not your typical first-gamer, and the Suns hope he turns out to be anything but your typical player.
O'Meara was taken in the 2011 mini-draft as a 17-year-old by the Suns, and being too young to play seniors last year, has gone about building an AFL-ready body in the past 12 months.
He's already drawn comparisons with Chris Judd, and his captain Gary Ablett has anointed him as a future Gold Coast leader.
Not bad for a kid who hasn't played a solitary AFL game.
But nothing much seems to phase the 19-year-old who was selected in his first All Australian team at the age of 15.
He was all smiles after Wednesday's training session at Metricon Stadium, just three days before he takes the same field against St Kilda.
Even Ablett himself was fooling around with the youngster, offering to carry O'Meara's bags into a press conference and jokingly warning the media to go easy on his debutant.
"There is a little bit of pressure coming from the expectation but that's more external stuff. I'm pretty determined and focused to do well for the team," O'Meara said.
"I'm definitely very excited. I've been here for 12 months now and it's been a long time coming, so I'm excited to get out there and play some footy with the boys."
O'Meara has competed in the Suns' last two NAB Cup campaigns and showed glimpses of his talent both years, including a 20-plus disposal performance against the Sydney Swans less than three weeks ago.
He admitted to leaning on a number of his young teammates for advice ahead of his debut.
"They said it's just another game and that's how you've got to take it, so I'm just taking it as another game," O'Meara said.
"Obviously it's my first AFL game and hopefully there's may more to come."
One teammate who is sure he will fit in is Fremantle recruit Greg Broughton.
Broughton said he first saw O'Meara when he trained with Freo for two weeks as a 16-year-old in the AIS program.
"I saw some super talents when he trained with us there," Broughton said.
"He's put on at least eight kilos since then, he's level-headed at that age and it's great to see. He's going to be a great player for this club.
"There's a lot of pressure on him. As long as he plays his role for the team, I'm happy with that."
Jaeger O'Meara is a midfielder in NAB AFL Fantasy. Register your team at our AFL Fantasy Hub.
Michael Whiting covers Gold Coast news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
