Twenty-seven Beaumaris players have graduated to the AFL, with six currently on league lists. As part of a series to celebrate some of the best talent to grace Banksia Reserve, Jonno Nash will chat to some of the Sharks’ best who went on to achieve their dreams.
Harry Dear is a descendant of Hawthorn royalty. His father was a Norm Smith medallist, while his uncle’s a three-time premiership player during the Hawks’ halcyon era. Harry reveals how he dealt with the pressures of his decorated pedigree; overcoming his torturous run with injury, and how he aspires to make his AFL debut at the Crows.
Jonno Nash: Harry, it’s been hard going for Adelaide’s SANFL side. You’re currently 0-5.
Harry Dear: It’s been a bit tough with all the injuries we’ve had on our list. Some of our players have gone into the seniors to cover those losses. We’ve only got six AFL-listed blokes in the SANFL side at the moment.
Many, like me, who don’t follow the SA state comp, would think the Crows would be a dominant force. What’s gone wrong?
We’re a very young team. I think the average age is 21 and we are playing more mature opposition. We’re just new to the SANFL so there are pretty strict rules on who our top up players can be. They’ve got to be under 21 and have no SANFL experience, so they’re young, local players trying to step up. Two years ago we had a strong team and went pretty deep into finals.
And it doesn’t seem like you can turn around your poor form soon. You have the tough assignment on taking on ladder leaders North Adelaide at their home ground, Prospect Oval, this weekend.
Yeah, that’ll be interesting. I think we get one player back (from injury).
How have you been travelling? Are you happy with your form?
I played well in the JLT (preseason competition) but because of the lack of players in our backline, I’ve been shifted from the forward line to defence. I’ve been there for the first four rounds and got back into the forward line last week. I think the coaches are happy with how I’m going.
You could be the face of AFLX given your performances in that comp.
Haha. I don’t know about that. We’ll be scraping the bottom of the barrel if that was the case.
You’re out of contract this year. How does that sit with you?
I don’t look too heavily into it because it could place too much stress. As cliche as it sounds, I’m treating it week-by-week and trying to keep delivering on what the coaches expect of me.
What’s it like living in a footy-mad two-team city with one major newspaper? Is the scrutiny fierce?
It’s pretty unreal. They love their footy. If you’re a big player, it can be pretty hard on you. But us blokes, flying under the radar, get by ok. It hasn’t affected me too much to be honest.
Have you been at the wrong end of some honest feedback by punters and experts?
Nah, not really. Let’s hope it stays that way.
You used to live with Mitch McGovern. Is that right?
Yeah. He moved out with his missus. So now I’m with Riley O’Brien, Paul Hunter and one of Paul’s mates who plays for Norwood.
So it’s basically a frat house?
Basically. But we’re pretty gutless though. There’s nothing too exciting happening at our place.
Let’s go back to your junior career at Beaumaris. When did your footy journey start at Shark Park?
Probably Auskick. I would’ve been prep, so around five/six years old and then played at the club until under 17s.
Did you take to footy as a youngster?
I was always kicking a footy around, but I sort of just did it because it was fun and it was with all my mates. We didn’t really take it too seriously. I think until I got to under-13s, I thought I wasn’t too bad at it. As you get older, you start making (representative) teams and you hear of people you know who’ve made AFL. That’s when you start thinking, “it could be me”.
You almost won a junior flag, but fell agonisingly short.
Yes. We were in division one for the majority of the years, but slipped to div two in under-13s. We pretty much won every game by at least 70 points and got to finals, but got knocked out in straight sets.
Who was the best player you ran around with?
Sean McClaren was very good, so was Cam Pace. They were the standouts.
Junior footy’s a largely stress-free period before the madness heats up in your latter teenage years. But you had some trying battles with injury which almost disrupted your ambitions of landing on an AFL list.
Oh yeah. I think in under-16s I did my meniscus in my left knee. I only played one game that year. Then, as soon as I got back, I did the other one, so that ruled out my under-17s year. Then halfway through my under-18 year I dislocated one of my shoulders. I was literally averaging one or two games per year since under-16s.
Your dad played 123 games, including the 1991 premiership, when he was named best afield. And your uncle, Greg, was a three-time premiership ruckman. How did you cope with expectation, given your family’s unique footy pedigree?
I didn’t think too much about that to be honest. It was handy getting tips and feedback. That was really helpful. But I didn’t really notice it. It was sometimes pretty cool to be compared to your dad, but I didn’t read too much into it to be honest. I actually didn’t think I was going to be picked up in my draft year.
Really? Well, at what point during your under-18 season at the Sandringham Dragons did you think there was a possibility you could be like your dad and uncle and make it on an AFL list?
With all those injuries, my main goal was just to get out on the field and just play footy. Then I was lucky enough to make the (Vic) Metro side and some clubs developed an interest and came around for interviews.
What teams did you speak to?
Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Western Bulldogs came over, and Essendon.
What are those meetings like?
It’s pretty weird. They come to your house and ask you all these questions, but they’re really friendly and nice. They just wanted to judge my character and how you go about it.
Was it a stressful period?
Yeah. Trying to get drafted and juggle school was challenging. But when I did my shoulder, it ended my footy season, so it relieved some of the pressure and allowed me to just focus on getting my body right. I couldn’t do anything more than what I’d done earlier in the year. That was it. If I wasn’t going to get picked up, I would’ve been an under-19 at Dragons, so there was a fall-back option. I was training with the Dragons before the draft during preseason.
You head to the draft combine, where the nation’s best talent assemble. You couldn’t take part in the physical tests because of injury, but you still had to face the bizarre interview process with prospective clubs. Did you have any odd encounters during the camp?
They would test with questions and try to get you to breaking point. Before the draft combine, Hawthorn said they weren’t going to pick me up as father-son in the national draft. They might’ve used a late rookie pick on me, but there was no guarantees. So clubs were asking me questions like, “well Hawthorn don’t want you, so why would we?” They’d make you fight your case. Then there were other ones where they’d say, “there’s a contract at the airport. You don’t have your phone, keys, wallet. You're stuck at home. What would you do?” You had to explain your thinking step-by-step. You’d say, “I’d run to Nan’s house,” and they’d go, “nah, Nan’s not there.” You’ll be like, “I’ll go on the train.” They reply, “you don’t have a myki.” It got to the point where you’re at Southern Cross station and you can’t catch a bus because you don’t have your wallet. So I said, “I’d get a taxi and tell him I’d pay at the other end.” They quickly go, “nah, you’re not allowed to do that.” They then got to a point and asked me if I saw a car with its keys in the ignition, would I take it. It’s a bit of carry on. There were other blokes who were told they had to sell a pen to them.
Basically just ripping off Wolf Of Wall Street?
Yeah. They’re just trying to take the piss out of you to be honest.
After all that, what were you feeling leading into draft day?
Well, draft night was a Thursday night and I booked for schoolies on Friday morning – the next day.
Where to?
To Byron. So if I wasn’t getting picked up, I was on the plane the next morning to Bryon.
It was a win-win scenario.
Yeah, exactly. Anyway, I just had my family over for draft night. I wasn’t expecting too much. I knew North Melbourne and Adelaide were keenest out of all of them.
Where did you think you’d go?
I thought I’d be waiting for the rookie draft. I thought I could’ve been a late pick in the draft, but I was thinking more rookie. And then, Adelaide had pick 30-something and they called “Harrison”. Everyone erupted, but they were calling out Harrison Wigg. It was an anti-climax.
But it wasn’t long after till they actually read out your name. Pick 58 in fact.
It was pretty cool – a very surreal feeling. I always pictured getting picked up, but when it actually came, you just sort of feel like, “wow. This is actually happening”. Everyone was overjoyed. Mum was screaming in excitement and then two seconds later she’s crying because I’m moving interstate. My mates came over that night. There were a lot of text messages too. I didn’t get to bed till two or three in the morning.
When did you head to Adelaide?
Two days after. It all hit me when I was finally alone in bed. I had achieved a dream.
Did you get a refund on the Byron flight?
No. Not at all. Gone (laughs). $2000 just gone.
What were your first impressions at West Lakes, the team’s headquarters?
I was living with Rory Sloane for the two weeks before the Christmas break. That was pretty cool. He had a pretty good pad in Brighton. And then I was incredibly nervous going to the club. I was pretty much with Mitch McGovern the whole day. It was just me and him. Two new recruits from interstate. We had to do our presser. It was probably one of the worst pressers you’ll ever see. To be honest, I didn’t know much about Adelaide players. I knew Tex (Taylor Walker), Sloaney and (Daniel) Talia and probably Eddie (Betts). I had to learn everyone else as I went along. I had to look at their lockers to see what their names were.
Were you a footy fan prior to getting drafted?
I liked it, but I wasn’t a fanatic. I watched it, but wasn’t completely absorbed in it.
You spent much of your first season of senior footy injured. A shoulder dislocation in round 1 of the SANFL saw you require a reconstruction.
Yeah. That was tough. Three years prior to that I would’ve played about 12 games. And this was a different shoulder to the previous one. I just thought I was out of luck. I felt like I couldn’t do much about it. I took the time to get to know the game plan and structures. I still wanted to get something out of my time. It’s a long year because it’s spent mostly in rehab. Then again, all this was new. I was living in a new city, so I didn’t get too glum.
But you returned late in the season to play in the final three matches in the SANFL.
My first touch – we were playing South Adelaide down there – was when Gov (Mitch McGovern) kicked it to me and I turned my opponent inside out and ran into an open goal. I thought, “this is easy”. But then I saw the ball just two more times after that (laughs). The next week, I wasn’t much better. But I got reinforcement from the coaches who said they weren’t expecting huge amounts from me and told me to go out there and have fun.
Let’s fast forward to the start of the 2016 season. You make your unofficial Crows debut in the pre-season competition against the previous year’s Grand Finalists, West Coast. Believe it or not, I was at that game.
Yeah?
Yeah. I remember it was at Sturt and it was scorching (hot).
Oh mate. You couldn’t swallow the saliva in your mouth it was that dry.
Nonetheless, you were getting your chance. You’d had limited exposure to senior footy due to injury, so how did you manage getting your headspace around playing an AFL game?
Yeah. I had a pretty decent preseason that year and was fortunate to get that game. Being out there with Tex, JJ (Josh Jenkins) and Tom (Lynch) and stuff, they guide you through the nerves, so they got me through it and helped me get in my zone. I had to think that it was just another game of footy.
And that kick-started what ended up being a pretty good year for you. You had an injury-free year, playing every game of the SANFL season. You were your team’s leading goal-kicker with 37 majors. Did you feel like you belonged at this level?
Yeah, I was enjoying my footy. It was fun. I was just focusing on playing consistent footy and hopefully if the (AFL) opportunity came, I’d be ready. I got a two-year deal after that, which was pleasing.
Last year, the club played you at both ends of the ground. Where do you prefer?
I played the majority of last year down back. But I prefer playing up forward to be honest.
What are some of the challenges on being on an AFL list? Has it met your expectations?
Yep, it’s unreal. At the end of the day you’re playing footy. That’s your job. It’s pretty fun. Of course, it’s hard work and when you’re in a form slump it can be tough. But I think it’s important to find that balance with footy and things outside of it. You’ve just got to focus on the fun side of footy. Sometimes that gets lost. But we’re all doing what we love.
What are the goals for the remainder of the year?
Hopefully I keep playing at a consistent standard and get a crack at AFL. Obviously that’s my main goal - to make my debut.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a gifted footballer?
Good question. Probably a tradie playing footy at Shark Park.
What trade?
I was tossing up between carpentry and landscaping.
When you reflect on your time at Beaumaris, what from that experience has held you in goodstead at the Crows?
I think just having fun. That’s how our love of footy started. Footy becomes serious as you get older but if you don’t need reminding of the enjoyment, you’ll be able to play your best footy. And that’s made easier when you’re doing it with mates too.
Well done, Harry. Hopefully we will see you at the club when you’re next in Melbourne. Thanks for your time.
Cheers mate. Go Sharks!