The romance of the draft

If the first night of the draft was business, the second night was purely pleasure

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On the first night of the draft we hailed Nick Watson as the new Wizard of Waverley Park, but for a lot of Hawks fans the second night of the draft was even more exciting and emotional as the Hawks drafted father-son prospect Calsher Dear with Pick 56, their last pick of the draft.

Dear, the son of late Hawthorn premiership player and 1991 Norm Smith medalist Paul, is a raw and developing key position forward with great reach, impressive marking ability, and impacts the game whenever he’s around the ball.

Incredible scenes at the Dear household last night

While still learning and honing his craft, the athletic 195cm Dear showed over the course of his draft season at Sandringham that no challenge is too daunting for him, both on and off the field.

Dear came from the clouds to put himself in the frame to be drafted with impressive performances against Tasmania, Western, Oakleigh and Northern before a fantastic Grand Final outing against Eastern stamped his draft papers and put AFL clubs on notice.

For a club that hasn’t previously had much success with the father-son system, Dear is the second father-son selection for the Hawks from this years draft, following the selection of highly rated young defender Will McCabe on night one with Pick 19.

The surprise call at 46

Prior to the feel good story of the Hawks draft, Mark McKenzie and his team sprung what was considered by most as a draft night surprise, selecting McCabe’s South Australian teammate Bodie Ryan with Pick 46.

Ryan — the cousin of recent Collingwood draftee Jakob Ryan — comes to the Hawks from SANFL club Glenelg, following in the footsteps of Tony Hall some years ago.

Playing a multitude of roles, Ryan caught the eye of club recruiters, including McKenzie, at the National Championships, where he was South Australia’s best player in their final two games.

Hawthorn have a strict one B.Ryan policy

Considered to be an intercept defender who uses the ball well by foot and takes the game on (sounding eerily familiar to a certain Hawthorn captain) Ryan can play on both smalls and talls, and loves to take the game on and break the lines with his run and kicking ability.

In South Australia’s encounter against a strong Vic Country side, it was Ryan who was turned to when number 1 draft pick Harley Reid had kicked three in the first quarter of the match. Ryan took on the responsibility of playing one out on Reid and held him goalless for the remainder of the contest. A performance that no doubt put him in the gun to be drafted to the Hawks.

In a season that was successful on a number of fronts, Ryan played a large part in Glenelg’s Reserves premiership, when most of his fellow draftees were playing U18s football.

The draft night trades

While there were no Josh Weddle style trade fireworks for the Hawks in this year’s draft, it’s important to note that McKenzie and his team were active in pushing picks out into next season, pulling the trigger on separate deals with Port Adelaide (Pick 52 for Port’s Future 4th Round Pick) and Sydney (Pick 52 for Swans Future 4th Round Pick and 59)

Draft night trade number 1

Draft night trade number 2

Despite all that, the highlight of the night and perhaps the draft itself, was the Dear family name returning to Waverley Park.

While Calsher has a long way to go to emulate his late father Paul and his feats in the brown and gold, we have no doubt that Paul would be extremely proud to see his son make it on to Hawthorn’s list.

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