While Monday’s AFLW draft was full of emotion, the biggest tear-jerker of the night came when Hawthorn selected the daughter of a late club great.
Right towards the end of the player market, the Hawks pulled a fast one, using pick No.57 to select Maya Dear, the daughter of the late Paul Dear.
Paul won the Norm Smith Medal for the Hawks in their 1991 premiership victory. He died in 2022 at the age of 55 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
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Hawthorn surprises AFLW draftee Maya Dear with a brown and gold reveal. @hawthornaflw via Instagram
A video shared by Hawthorn on Tuesday morning showed the moment when Dear’s younger brother Calsher — who plays for the club’s men’s team — surprised her with the news that she would be joining him in the brown and gold.
It was announced earlier this month that Calsher, 20, would wear the No.13 guernsey in 2026 — the number made famous at the club by Paul.
In the video posted to social media, the Dear family got together for a photo to mark Calsher inheriting the No.13 jumper. However, the surprise reveal came when a Hawks’ AFLW guernsey was also introduced to the photoshoot.
“Do you want to play for Hawthorn?,” Calsher asked his sister.
“You’re joking… I was not expecting that,” Dear replied, as their mother, Cherie, began squealing with disbelief and delight.
Hawthorn’s decision to take a punt on Dear caused surprise, partially because of her limited football experience.
Despite her strong lineage, the athletic 21-year-old’s sporting background is rooted mainly in netball and basketball, having most recently played NBL1 for the Sandringham Sabres.
Dear is Hawthorn’s women’s program’s first-ever father-daughter pick.
Calsher’s path to the big league was equally unexpected; as a late developer, he never expected to play for the Hawks, let alone wear his father’s number.
Paul was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020, eventually succumbing to the illness in July 2022. This was just over a year before Calsher was drafted to the Hawks with pick 56.
Paul played 123 games for the Hawks between 1987 and 1996, often featuring alongside his ruckman brother, Greg.
In Paul’s honour, the Hawks now play an annual Dare to Hope game to raise money for the charity of the same name, which he and Cherie founded.
The family of late Paul Dear pose for a photo in front of the Hawks’ banner ahead of the round 18 match in 2022. Jonathan DiMaggio/AFL Photos via Getty Images
After Hawthorn passed on pick No.58, the player chosen immediately after Dear on Monday also went to a club where her father is an esteemed premiership hero.
The Lions used pick No.59 to recruit Meg Lappin, daughter of Nigel Lappin, a key figure in their 2001-03 flag three-peat and a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
Lappin, whose father has served as an assistant coach at the Cats for several years, was the second Lappin taken on draft night.
Queensland teenager Sunny Lappin was the first Lappin snapped up, selected by Gold Coast with pick No.4.
Though eligible for father-daughter selection by Carlton or St Kilda — where her dad Matthew (Nigel’s cousin) played — she opted for the Suns, where she is a part of their academy program.
She was one of eight academy players selected by the Suns, with six of those going inside the first 15 picks.
The AFLW Draft 2025 first round class, led by No.1 pick Olivia Wolmarans. AFL Photos via Getty Images
With the first pick of the draft, Richmond selected West Australian key forward, Olivia Wolmarans.
Throwing an early curveball, athletic midfielder Scarlett Johnson had been in the mix for the Tigers’ pick as late as Sunday, while Chloe Bown, the year’s long-time favourite for the top selection, eventually slipped to the Crows with pick No. 5.
Richmond ultimately settled on Wolmarans late in the decision process.