{"id":127491,"date":"2025-09-08T09:50:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T09:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/127491\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T09:50:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T09:50:08","slug":"gws-giants-defender-requests-trade-to-st-kilda-saints-hawthorn-hawks-calsher-dear-out-of-semi-final-versus-adelaide-crows-afl-to-introduce-last-touch-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/127491\/","title":{"rendered":"GWS Giants defender requests trade to St Kilda Saints; Hawthorn Hawks Calsher Dear out of semi-final versus Adelaide Crows; AFL to introduce last-touch rule"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was no guarantee Aleer\u2019s opportunities would be greater at GWS next year, given the presence of Sam Taylor, Harry Himmelberg, Jack Buckley and Connor Idun.<\/p>\n

However, Aleer will also face competition at St Kilda, given Jack Silvagni is joining a list that already includes Callum Wilkie, Dougal Howard, Anthony Caminiti and Alix Tauru \u2013 but the outgoing Giant will fancy his chances of being a regular far more.<\/p>\n

His management sought assurances from the Saints that their interest in Silvagni would not impact Aleer, who averaged almost two intercept marks a game this year. St Kilda were keen to trade for Aleer in last year\u2019s trade period, but he chose to fulfil the final year of his contract.<\/p>\n

St Kilda are also keen to lure contracted midfielder-forward Sam Flanders from Gold Coast to bolster their on-ball rotation, while Hawk Cam Mackenzie \u2013 a Saints next-generation academy graduate \u2013 has also been linked to the club.<\/p>\n

The aggressive recruiting drive is reminiscent of St Kilda\u2019s 2019 trade period, where they brought in Bradley Hill, Dan Butler, Zak Jones, Paddy Ryder and Howard.<\/p>\n

GWS winger Jacob Wehr also told the Giants he would explore his free agency options, and is expected to depart, with a move to Port Adelaide the likeliest scenario. Wehr became a lifetime free agent when he was delisted at the end of the 2021 season.<\/p>\n

Hawk Dear officially out of semi-final<\/p>\n

Jon Pierik<\/p>\n

Hawthorn forward Calsher Dear will miss Friday night\u2019s semi-final against Adelaide with a hamstring injury but the Hawks haven\u2019t put a line through his season.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old was subbed off in the third term of Saturday\u2019s elimination final win<\/a> and won\u2019t make the trip to face the minor premiership. Fellow tall forward Mitch Lewis, who was dropped ahead of the club\u2019s elimination final, shapes as a likely replacement.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot the news we were hoping for, but he\u2019s had an incident,\u201d high performance manager Peter Burge said on the club\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was running at speed and just noticed a tightening sensation. But we subbed him out tactically during the third quarter [against GWS on Saturday], and we\u2019ve since had a scan today, which has shown he\u2019s got a low to moderate-grade hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

\"Hoping<\/p>\n

Hoping for a recall: Hawks forward Mitch Lewis.Credit: AFL Photos<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s certainly not ruled out of the season, obviously depending on how deep we can continue to go, but he won\u2019t be playing this week, and we\u2019ll progress back into running this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s worth noting too that Calsher\u2019s been on a heavily modified program this year, given the stress fracture he started with at the start of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loading<\/p>\n

Lewis played the final six games of the home-and-away season, but was axed for Saturday\u2019s clash because the Hawks were conscious of the Giants\u2019 fleet of rebounding defenders. This left Mabior Chol, Jack Gunston and Dear as the three primary tall forwards.<\/p>\n

That powerful utility Josh Weddle returned for the clash meant the Hawks did not lose a great deal of size.<\/p>\n

Star midfielder Jai Newcombe said Dear had taken part in team meetings on Monday, but acknowledged Lewis could now be in the selection frame.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of guys at Box Hill that are playing really well and have been in good form and pushing us all to be playing good footy at this time of the year,\u201d Newcombe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very fortunate to still have both sides playing in the finals which is great for us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lewis responded with four goals in the Hawks\u2019 VFL win over Brisbane at Box Hill City Oval on Saturday.<\/p>\n

What could impact a potential Lewis return is that Weddle was also used up forward against the Giants, particularly in the final term, and finished as the No.1 target for the afternoon inside 50.<\/p>\n

Retiring club great Luke Breust, who was also dropped for the Giants\u2019 clash, is another selection option.<\/p>\n

Coach Sam Mitchell said Saturday\u2019s win \u2013 the Hawks\u2019 first at Engie Stadium \u2013 had been important for his team\u2019s \u201cidentity\u201d, which Newcombe alluded to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely character building for us \u2026 our record [at the stadium] was 0-8 prior to the weekend, so that was pleasing. We have been in those close games interstate this year. It\u2019s nice to have the feeling of a win after being in those positions,\u201d Newcombe said.<\/p>\n

The Hawks and Crows split their results this season. The Hawks won by three points in Launceston in round 14, but lost by 14 in round 21 in Adelaide, having led by eight points at the final break. In that last game, the Hawks fielded Chol, Gunston, Dear and Lewis, with Dear beginning as the substitute.<\/p>\n

The Hawks booted the opening five goals that night, while Izak Rankine, with three goals and three goal assists, was instrumental in the Crows\u2019 response.<\/p>\n

However, Rankine will again miss this week because of suspension<\/a>, the Crows\u2019 desperately missing his run and creativity in their qualifying final loss to the Magpies.<\/p>\n

Newcombe delivered a performance for the ages against the Giants, finishing with 32 disposals, including a goal and 12 contested possessions.<\/p>\n

He was the highest rated player on the ground, as he has been in all three of his finals.<\/p>\n

Taken in the 2021 mid-season draft, Newcombe has become somewhat of a finals specialist.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be in this spot every year. The more chances I get, and we get, to perform in finals, the better we are all going to be,\u201d Newcombe said.<\/p>\n

AFL expected to introduce a last touch out-of-bounds rule<\/p>\n

Jon Pierik<\/p>\n

The AFL is pushing to introduce a last disposal out-of-bounds rule, while the substitute player is likely to be dumped in favour of a five-man bench, as part of a shake-up led by new football operations boss Greg Swann.<\/p>\n

Under Swann\u2019s plan for season 2026, a free kick will be paid against players who handball or kick the ball over the boundary line between the arcs.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New rule: The AFL is expected to introduce a last-touch out-of-bounds rule next season to help umpires.Credit: AFL Photos<\/p>\n

The AFL Commission will meet in grand final week and need to approve the change, but that rule tinkering seems more than likely.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these things have to be approved by the commission. But there will be recommendations put forward and that will be one that we adopt,\u201d Swann told the AFL Record.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do it in AFLW, the SANFL does it, it\u2019s between the arcs, and it\u2019s a kick or a handball.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stats show on the games played that there would only be two extra free kicks a game. It\u2019s not a big change, but it\u2019s a tough call for the umps sometimes, and we\u2019re almost there anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rule will ease the frustration players and supporters have when it comes to umpiring decisions around insufficient intent.<\/p>\n

Swann has also suggested the contentious substitute player rule will be abolished, with teams having a regular five-man bench, with rotations capped at 75 per team.<\/p>\n

The former long-time club chief executive replied \u201cprobably – yep\u201d when asked if the grand final would be the last time each team would have a substitute.<\/p>\n

Swann said the 6-6-6 formation warning would remain.<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There was no guarantee Aleer\u2019s opportunities would be greater at GWS next year, given the presence of Sam…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-127491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}