By Nic Negrepontis
No player at Hawthorn has grown more this year than Calsher Dear, according to star teammate Dylan Moore.
Dear joined the club under the father-son rule with Pick 56 in the 2023 National Draft, but has had an immediate impact at the Hawks playing 14 games as a key forward and kicking 19 goals.
However, Moore revealed that Dear had “no idea” what it took to be an AFL player when he arrived at the club, praising Jack Gunston in particular for working with him daily.
He said the catalyst could have been a naive Dear’s choice of meal during a pre-season camp.
“I haven’t seen someone grow so much in the space of six months,” Moore told SEN Breakfast.
“I don’t know if I should be saying this, but we had a pre-season camp in late December and we all ordered food and everyone was ordering chicken salads or sandwiches and Calsher ordered a fried chicken burger.
“Sam Mitchell was there and he was like, ‘oh god, this kid has got a long way to go’, and since that moment Jack Gunston’s worked really closely with him to help him with the off-field stuff and the professionalism of an AFL footballer because he had no idea.
“He’d played four or five NAB League games, he’d hardly played much football and now he’s working so hard behind the scenes. No one watches more vision than Calsher and Gunston.
“Every day they’re sitting down watching 30 minutes of vision and going over other key forwards. He’s such a driven individual and his talent is just about unmatched.”
Moore added that it was the leadership group who initially pulled Dear aside after the pre-season camp.
“Us leaders were there and we just had a quiet word to him and he was fine with it. He had no idea. It’s just an example. He had no idea what it took to be an AFL footballer,” he added.
Dear’s emergence has been particularly important for the Hawks, given the consistent injury issues plaguing Mitch Lewis.
He kicked three goals in a big win over Richmond on Sunday.
Hawthorn will need to beat North Melbourne in Round 24 in order to secure a spot in the top eight.
Crafted by Project Diamond