FOURTH-gamer Jaeger O’Meara put his more experienced teammates to shame during the 38-point defeat to Port Adelaide at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night, his coach Guy McKenna said.

O’Meara played on Travis Boak in the first half, keeping the Power skipper to nine possessions and then moved onto Hamish Hartlett who, with his classy distribution and three goals, was the star of the second quarter.

McKenna certainly felt if O’Meara’s effort was replicated across the midfield, the Suns would not have been outscored 9.3 to 1.1 in the second stanza - the crucial difference in the eventual 38-point defeat.

"The axe is certainly being sharpened as we speak," McKenna said after the loss.

"We probably needed another two or three Jaeger O’Meara’s to stem the flow.

"That was explained to the group at half-time.

"To highlight a four-gamer … (if I was a player) I’d be walking around tonight scratching my head that's for sure. I’d be hurt by that if I was a player sitting alongside Jaeger.

"(His) job in the first half on Travis Boak was sensational.

"We had to move a four game player off their captain Boak and put him onto Hartlett in the end."

The 19-year-old West Australian single-handedly accounted for the only Suns goal of in the second quarter, as he first marked in the Power’s 50, then twice gathered the ball at stoppages, before popping up to kick through the goals from close range.

"Given what was expected of Jaeger … you shouldn’t have seen what you saw today," McKenna said.

"What you saw was his character come to the fore and his ability to outwork some of our more seasoned players around the midfield and … some of the Port Adelaide blokes as well.

"His ability to work defensively on two blokes who were getting away and then go forward and win some possession for us was a super effort.

"His effort couldn’t be faulted."

McKenna was at a loss to explain the pattern of second-quarter slumps this season, where the Suns have been outscored by over 100 points combined in the first four games.

"We need to put our finger on it," McKenna said.

"It’s hard to explain, we’ve sorted out our starts and we outscored them in the second half, to be outscored 9.3 it is unlike the Gold Coast even in the first two seasons.

"I certainly didn’t smell that at quarter time. I thought the boys efforts and intensity in this game and the season has been really good.

"You back off one step, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing against, you get exposed - and we got exposed."