Hawks Father-son Hope Calsher Dear Among Late AFL Draft State Combine Call-ups
Calsher Dear, a father-son prospect for the Hawks, earned an invitation to the AFL draft state combine after a stellar performance in the grand final. PAUL AMY shares his story, which is tinged with melancholy, and exposes the identities of the other recruits.
Calsher Dear saved the best for last at the end of the season.
After his outstanding performance for Sandringham Dragons in their Coates Talent League grand final triumph against Eastern Ranges on Sunday at IKON Park in Carlton, the son of the late Paul Dear and a father-son prospect for Hawthorn has been invited to participate in the AFL draft state combine.
The 18-year-old was used as a forward and as a relieving ruckman during the game. He had a total of 13 disposals, three marks, 14 hit-outs, four inside 50s, and he kicked two goals.
Dear, who stands at 194 centimeters, ended the CTL season with 21 goals after playing in 15 matches.
In addition, he participated in five matches for the Beaumaris Under 19s in the Victorian amateurs, scoring a total of 41 goals over the course of those matches, including a bag of 14 against the Parkdale Vultures and nine against the Old Haileybury.
Mark Wheeler, the Dragons' talent manager, expressed the team's delight with Dear's performance in the premiership.
We kind of knew he could do it, and he brought it all together on the big stage," he remarked.
"We couldn't be happier for him.
He'd gotten a knock on his knee, but he was playing better with each game in the championship.
There was a touch of Nic Naitanui about what he did in the forward line and then in the ruck where he won his own ball in the centre and almost kicked a goal.
He's done everything he can to get himself drafted," Wheeler continued, "hopefully father and son, which would be a fairy-tale ending. But now he has other clubs interested in him as well.
Wheeler mentioned that the past year had been challenging for both Calsher and the Dear family.
Paul Dear, a muscular forward who won the Norm Smith Medal in 1991 and played 123 games for Hawthorn, lost his battle with cancer and passed away in July of 2022. He had been battling the disease for a very long time.
A recruiter for the AFL praised Calsher's play in the grand final, saying that it was outstanding.
"He pounced on the ball, and it was clear that he relished the freedom of playing in the ruck... "It gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his mobility by allowing him to move around the field," the scout stated.
"I believe that he had a more consistent impact on the game across all four quarters than he had in the past, when he played a quarter here, a quarter there, 15 minutes here, and 15 minutes there,"
"He's a bit of a mystery, to be honest. He has been able to catch the ball and kick goals at the school level and for Beauie. He has also done it a bit in the Coates league, but he hasn't been able to do it consistently enough for it to count for him.
Therefore, it appears as though he will have possibilities for growth in a full-time program. At this point, nobody can say for certain what form he will take when he transforms.
Josh Bourke, the senior coach for Beaumaris, noted that Dear possessed "athletic attributes similar to those of Charlie Curnow."
This year he only participated in one senior game for Beauie, but he was able to score five goals.
"Ability to do it in the air, ability to do it on the ground, he likes contact, he likes to pressure and tackle... he likes to get his hands dirty." Bourke, who was the head coach of the Sandringham Dragons at one point, described the player as "a pretty raw prospect but full of talent."
STATE COMBINE ADDITIONAL INVITEES
Lachlan McArthur, Western Jets
Calsher Dear, Sandringham Dragons
Liam Walters, Oakleigh Chargers
Patrick Hughes, Geelong Falcons
Max Beattie, Woodville-West Torrens
Harry Grant, Central Districts
Patrick Weckert, Woodville-West Torrens
Ashton Ferreira, South Fremantle
Lawson Humphries, Swan Districts