Welcome Welcome to Hawthorn : Calsher Dear! Rising star nom!

[hawker79]

What a first game for the kid to play in. That alone is worth 1000 memories but he has shown us all a glimpse of the future and what he and our team can be. Most of us think he wasnt ready but he stepped up and not only were the 2 goals much needed and quality, he contributed in marking contests and can take a great mark and I think his standout attributes is something abit different to what we currently have in that lead up high flying tall that can lead up, take a grab and is a natural kick. Once he puts on abit more size and muscle, watch out! So happy for him and his family and looking forward to seeing more of him play in the future.

 

[cryptor]

And in the same game Wilson had 21 touches, 8 marks and kicked 3.2.

Windsor had 18 touches, 6 marks, 6 tackles and kicked 1.2.

If any of those three haven't been nominated yet then they will this week.

I won’t be losing any sleep over it.

A nomination is nice recognition but ultimately as far as the award goes it only matters who wins and it’s going to be Harley Reid.

I’m happy to take the excellent debut and win.

 

[Bugs1977]

Did that high marking remind anyone else of Roughy or just me?

It's Curnow that he reminds me of. He really has the tools to be anything.

 

[smish]

I agree super Hans

Read it again in Hans' voice

 

[toomanysquibs]

Every single step up that he has taken, people have questioned whether he is ready.

"yeah he's doing well in 19s but he's not ready or TAC cup"
"He's doing well in the TAC cup, but he's not ready to be drafted"
"he's done well in a VFL praccy match but he's not ready for VFL"
"he's done well in the VFL but he's not ready for AFL"

Every time so far he has proven people wrong.

The Newcombe curve doesn’t lie.

When a guy’s performances make every level look the same as the one beneath it, you are looking at an exceptional talent.

Calsher made the journey a lot faster than anyone I can recall since the great Cyril Rioli, albeit in a different role under very different circumstances.

Big men just take more time too.

Unreal for him, our club and supporters. Going to be magic watching his career unfold.

 

[Darwin_Hawk]

Terrific performance by a kid in his first game.

He's got the goods, tackles, makes efforts, runs up and down the ground, does everything he does at Stangers.

Especially after he was majorly basketball, and he basically lost a year after his Dad passed away.

Now for McCabe...

 

[Iceman!]

I am so happy for him, he already has been a huge bright spot for this year.

Good luck finding a Hawk fan who wasn't giddy as hell watching him today! Hopefully just a sign of things to come, he has the tools!

 

[Ned Ryerson]

With Lewis and Chol back and fit, calsher should be third tall next year week onwards as a full time senior player. Hawthorn have great history of having three talls in our most successful years. Now, let's hope we see both McCabe and Denver in the side before the years out .

EFA

 

[wizzard400]

I've always said that off all the footy skills, marking (especially contested marking) is the one that you either have or you do not.

Other skills like kicking and handballing can be learned but the ability to read the ball in air, fly for it and catch it is an innate ability to a large degree.

And just from this one game you can tell that Clasher has it whereas I watched Kossy play for us for three years and despite having all the athletic tools he never really looked like he had it.

Great debut, very promising

While I agree with you, I believe that contested marking is one of the skills that translates really well across from basketball (no surprises Calsher played it growing up).

The ability to time jumping for rebounds, or just the ball in general, in basketball is one of the most important skills in the sport, particularly for big men.

 

[Argy]

Must confess I'm a bit disappointed. Was eleven short of the thirteen I predicted.

 

[rei154]

4 tackles. Just keeps cracking in.

He was running off fumes at the end. I really hope we give him some time with Lewis and Chol. Think we could force some mismatches with those 3.

Last year all I heard throughout the draft was how Jed Walter was a big tackling machine and was the best KPF due to his aggression.

Dare I say Calsh has the same factor, but I've already seen it more in one game than I have in all of Walters.
No diving, either.

 

[rei154]

Am also coming round to "Clunker" Calsh.

 

[dermott]

Great debut by Calsher. I have liked his form at Box Hill but felt he was not yet ready for AFL. I love his contested marking and vertical leap and suspect what we are seeing is the tip of the iceberg. He has great scope to improve and with a few more preseasons should be a very productive KPF.
He should be congratulated on what he has achieved in a very short period of time.

 

[matey]

D+

 

[Alex_au]

Awesome debut Calsher, very proud of that game from you! Boy is this kid going to be special. Hope he stays in the side next week. Would be great if we could bring in a second ruck option for support. Either Ramsden or (dare I say it Chol) so that Calsher can focus on his forward craft.

 

[cryptor]

Is he ready for a second game?

 

[eldorado]

Is he ready for a second game?

Maybe.

One game and then back to the magoos isn't what Sam normally does.

At least one more, then the battering might catch up with him.

 

[Sirlemsip]

Maybe.

One game and then back to the magoos isn't what Sam normally does.

At least one more, then the battering might catch up with him.

Will be much more protected next week with definitely Chol and possibly Lewis back in the side.

Chol back means that he doesn't need to play 2nd ruck either, which should reduce the battering received.

 

[Capital hawk]

Loved watching game one and look forward to watching his footballing journey continue in the coming years.
Great physique and athleticism for a first year player.

 

[Nugett]

In the next 5 years our forward line shall consist of Ginnivan, Watson and Dear. That is rather exciting! Probably not as good as 06/07 when we had Buddy and Rough developing together, but it’s still rather exciting. I think we need another tall down there, whether it be Lewis, Chol or even DGB, who knows? It’s why I was a little bit disappointed that we couldn’t have snagged Curtain as well last year.

 

[Goatie]

I remember watching the documentary of his Dad’s fight with cancer. There was a clip of Calsher playing U16’s basketball where he dunked the ball.

He has an incredible vertical leap. It’s like he is jumping off a trampoline and floats in the air. I saw him today jump in a pack and then land like a cat. It reminded of what Cyril used to do overhead.

Sometimes VFL stats are overrated because the grounds are smaller and there are no grandstands but everything he is doing looks like we could have a serious player.

I’ve got a bit of a head wobble today. I told you guys we have something special in Calsher. To be honest I was not expecting a debut this early.

 

[peetoo]

Must confess I'm a bit disappointed. Was eleven short of the thirteen I predicted.

Two on debut is the new bag

 

[peetoo]

Might get to stay in the 22 for forward pressure alone

 

[Judd2Sewell]

He just gets his hands to the ball in marking situations. He took two big marks and got his hands to two others that would have been legitimate extremely contested grabs (got a free for one, which was deserved).

That ability to just pluck marks is a rare commodity these days. Once he puts on another 10kgs he will be so hard to contend with, and I think he'll probably have defenders hanging off him regularly by that point.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

There’s something to be said for a player who continually jumps at the ball like Calsher does.

Even the mark he took to kick his first, he tried to take it at the highest point by leaping to mark and twisting his body in flight.

This is a great trait to have for a key forward.