CALSHER Dear has dealt with far more challenging situations than playing in the twos at the Kennedy Community Centre or Casey Fields. This year didn’t start where or how he wanted it to. But life has taught him far greater perspective than most 20-year-olds have.
Hawthorn escaped with a three-point win over Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night, but it was a performance worth more than just the four premiership points for Dear.
The son of late Norm Smith Medallist Paul, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2022 after a two-year battle but left a legacy with Dare to Hope, started the season in the brown and gold of Box Hill, not Hawthorn, waiting for a spot to open in Sam Mitchell’s forward line again.
Dear took that chance on the weekend.
The 195cm mobile forward kicked 2.2 from 14 disposals, eight score involvements and five marks to remind the football world of his athleticism on the same stage he introduced himself on two years ago.
"Over the last five or six years I've learnt to look at things holistically. I could be cracking the shits and be sad because I'm not playing or I've had some struggles with my body and all that, but I mean how many people wish they were in my position who gets the chance to do all this? That sort of keeps me in good stead," a reflective Dear told AFL.com.au after the three-point win on Saturday night.
"If you're a pessimist, I find that a lot of days can be ruined when nothing's going wrong. Like no matter how much you worry, there's nothing in the future that's going to change. So obviously there's times where I do struggle with that a bit too. But I think just the overall, I look at all the people who wish they were in my position. And they're not, so I don't take it for granted. I just love being able to go to the club every day with all the boys. Literally, it's my dream, it's not even a job, it's my dream. When you look at it like that, the bad things don't actually seem all that bad."
Dear exploded in 2024 after being selected at pick No.56 the previous November. Not much was expected of him in his debut season. But after kicking 25 goals from 17 appearances, including 3.4 in the elimination final win over the Western Bulldogs, expectations skyrocketed in 2025. That's the nature of the beast.
But at 19, Dear didn't get a decent run at it last year. Stress fractures in his back wiped out his second pre-season at Waverley Park. It took until the round 10 trip to Darwin to get back in the team, but he was subbed early in the second half and didn't play senior football again until round 18 when he kicked three goals against Fremantle to ignite his season. Then a hamstring strain in the elimination final win ended his campaign.
With Mitch Lewis returning to full fitness from a knee reconstruction late last season and then completing a full pre-season, there wasn't room for Dear in the same forward line as Mabior Chol and Jack Gunston to start the season. But he door opened in round six and Dear showed he makes Hawthorn better.
"I obviously haven't started the year how I wanted to, but I think in the end I just wanted an opportunity to so I can show everyone that I've still got it," Dear said.
"Like I'm 20, you can't expect all these young players and all that to be playing at such a high level from so early in the year. It's a testament to those young players that do. People like 'Wizard' [Nick Watson] and all that, but some of us just aren't like that. I took a bit longer to get going this year. But I feel like I've put the right steps in place over the last month or two. There's a lag effect to that, but I think it's all starting to pay off."
Some players dominate VFL, but struggle at AFL level. Others rise, the higher the level. Dear fits the latter category. He acknowledged he hadn't put the runs on the board across the summer to demand his spot back due to back management before Christmas, but revealed persistent migraines limited his ability to back up day-in, day-out.
"The back problem lingered around a bit, so up until Christmas, I was on a real managed program and didn't really join in with the group much. Post-Christmas I couldn’t have a full crack because I struggled with migraines a lot, which I’ve had over the last four or five years,” he said.
"People who have them often know what they're like. But I was getting them probably four or five times a week at times – and really they're debilitating. So I'd be able to train and do all that then get off the track or some days it'd be in the morning, some days be at night, and I just literally couldn't do anything. That got a bit frustrating, but I've done so much stuff to try and work on it and tried so many different techniques. I did a lot of work with 'Hick' [Adrian Hickmott] just on mindfulness and sort of stress response and all that.
"They hang around for three or four months or so. They go away and I'm hoping they never come back, but they tend to come back a bit. I've tried everything, I've spent a lot of money on preventions, on treatments and all that. But I'm still going through that at the moment. They've stopped now, which is good. I've got a free mind."
Saturday was special for football romantics. Will McCabe made his debut for Hawthorn 880 days after being recruited as a father-son selection at pick No.19 in the 2023 AFL Draft. His Dad Luke played three games with Paul Dear in his first season in 1995 during his 138-game career. Will looked comfortable at the level and kicked a crucial first goal to level the scores late in the game from a tough angle to bring the house down under the roof.
"It was unbelievable. How good was his goal? We don't win without that goal," Dear said.
"Obviously it was a new forward line look this year, but me, 'Mitta' [Lewis] and Will have played a lot of footy together (at Box Hill) and we all know what each other's strengths are, we all know how each other plays and we all know how to bring the best out of each other. I played the last six weeks with Will in the VFL and to see him translate that game and now putting it on the AFL stage was just unbelievable."
Gunston will return from a corked calf against Gold Coast for this Saturday's trip to Launceston. Chol will miss at least the next few weeks with a hamstring strain. Hawthorn had been keen to play McCabe when an opportunity presented.
Then there is Aidan Schubert. The draftee dazzled in the pre-season after moving from South Australia and continues to knock on Mitchell's door after kicking 3.5 against Port Melbourne on Saturday, following 5.2 before the VFL bye. Before long it will open. Dear believes breathing down each other's necks is good for everyone. A rising tide lifts all boats.
"It's good I think. You can't get content with how you're going because you're all pushing each other to improve. You know if you, if you fall off, there's someone there that's going to replace you. I think that's going to be a really good thing once we start leading towards the end of the year," he said.
"It's not just forwards, like in every position, there's people that are right there ready to go in, so we just keep pushing each other to get better and knowing that if something does happen or someone might not be at their best, then it's not going to be a difference because there'll be someone there who can perform just as well."
Dear is out-of-contract in October and yet to discuss a new deal at Hawthorn. His start to 2026 has meant those discussions with his manager, Julian Petracca from CDG Sports, have been shelved until the right time. Rival clubs have monitored his situation closely – and will continue to after Saturday – but Dear just wants to play regular senior football for Hawthorn. A future elsewhere is not something he can imagine.
"I haven't really thought about it [the contract status]. I think probably I would have at this stage if I had played and been as good as I wanted to be at the start of the year, but I didn't want to put too much on my plate; it's not like I'm going out of contract in two weeks or whatever," he said.
"I love the club, so I don't know what a different future would look like. But I'm focusing on footy and probably start that over the next couple of months or so. It's got nothing to do with the contract, I'm here to play AFL football. That's what I wanted to do and that's my goal. The rest of it just sort of handles itself. I've got a manager for all that. But I love this club. I love all the boys."
Progress is seldom linear for young key forwards in this caper. But after a difficult six months, 120 minutes at Marvel Stadium was all Dear needed to show the progress he has made away since we last saw him under the bright lights.