Son of late Hawthorn star to make debut
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says father-son pick Calsher Dear has come from “a long way back” physically to make his debut as he credited Jack Gunston with the teenager’s rise.
The Hawks will unveil the son of the late 1991 Norm Smith medallist Paul Dear in its clash against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday after an eye-catching month of VFL performances as a key forward.
The 18-year-old was taken with pick 56 in last year’s draft, and Mitchell said he was at the “lower end” of physical preparedness for his first pre-season but had developed quickly to bolt into the senior side.
“He’s come from a long way back, he has really grown enormously physically, but also in his confidence around the group,” Mitchell said.
“I think he’s just grown in such a great space, and I think Jack Gunston has got to take a lot of credit because he’s just worked closely with him along with Adrian Hickmott, the forwards coach.
“I think he’s got two main attributes, one is his marking ability, but also his follow-up work … he’s always getting after the opposition, he’s quite mobile in that way once the ball hits the ground.”
Mitchell said the decision to trade for Gunston after one season at Brisbane did not need to be explained despite the veteran forward’s challenges on the field in 2024.
The 32-year-old was dropped after round 2 and only has 2.7 to his name after four games, but Mitchell said that was not how the success of his return to Hawthorn would be measured.
“From the very first time I spoke to (Gunston) when we were discussing whether or not to do the trade, it was around if Jack has a really good season himself but he doesn’t influence others, that wouldn’t be a success,” he said.
“If he didn’t play a game for us but he was able to mentor and help the next group come through, that would be a success.
“I don’t feel like I have to justify Jack Gunston coming back to the club, but for those who maybe didn’t understand, who in their view might have seen that as inconsistent in our strategy, I hope this gives an insight into how it works behind the scenes.”
Gunston and Dear will be the Hawks’ main forward targets against the Bulldogs, with Mitchell conceding in-form fullback Liam Jones would boast a significant strength advantage against the debutant.
The Hawks decided to leave out budding forward-ruck Max Ramsden despite Mabior Chol’s suspension and an ongoing knee concern for Mitch Lewis.
Mitchell said the Hawks had a recent breakthrough with their best forward’s troublesome knee and he would be able to return to full training once the current swelling had subsided.
“(Lewis is going) slowly, I’m not certain on him just yet, he hasn’t done any training,” Mitchell said.
“It should be better for his knee, the part of his knee that was rubbing and causing some swelling an irritation … in layman’s terms I think that bit has broken off – sounds bad – but it means that it’s now OK and he’s just got the swelling and stuff in there … hopefully it settles down quickly, and then he won’t be on a limited program when he gets back.”
