Paul Dear (original) (raw)

Paul Dear (28 December 1966 – 8 July 2022) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Younger brother of fellow Hawk ruckman Greg Dear, Paul was the smaller of the two; Greg stood at 199 cm to Paul's 188cm. Though giving away inches to taller opponents, Paul would occasionally be the secondary ruckman for the team. The Dear brothers were recruited when the Latrobe Valley was in the Hawthorn zone. A half-forward, Dear made his debut in 1987 and played in that year's Grand Final. He filled in for the unavailable Jason Dunstall at full-forward but ended up on the losing side.