Paul Dear

Paul Dear was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the younger brother of fellow Hawk ruckman Greg Dear, and was known for his versatility and courage on the field. He made his debut in 1987 and played in that year's Grand Final, filling in for the injured Jason Dunstall at full-forward. He missed out on the back-to-back premierships of 1988 and 1989, but became a regular player in 1990 and 1991. He was instrumental in Hawthorn's victory over West Coast in the 1991 Grand Final, kicking two goals and winning the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on the ground. He almost single-handedly turned a nine-point deficit into a ten-point half-time lead by dominating across the Hawthorn half-forward line and setting up several goals. He played 123 games and kicked 80 goals for Hawthorn until his retirement in 1996. In 2020, he was diagnosed with untreatable pancreatic cancer. He appeared on the AFL-centred TV show The Front Bar in 2021 to promote Pancare, a charity that supports people with pancreatic cancer and other upper gastrointestinal cancers. He died in July 2022, just one week before Hawthorn was to play in the "Dare to Hope" match to raise money for Pancare. A documentary about his life and legacy, entitled Dare to Hope, is set for release in late 2022.