If anyone deserved a dream start to his return game, it's first-year forward Harry Dear.
A forgotten figure outside the four walls of West Lakes, Dear has been forced to spend most of first season with Adelaide on the sidelines. The promising 18-year-old dislocated his left shoulder in his SANFL debut back in April after a collision with North Adelaide key defender Todd Miles.
Following the high of being drafted onto an AFL roster just months earlier and joining in his first AFL pre-season, Dear then had to deal with the difficult news that his injury required surgery and would see him moved onto the Club's Long Term Injury list. The split-second incident cost Dear nearly four months on the sidelines.
Unfortunately, shoulder issues are nothing new for the 197cm, 97kg forward. Dear underwent surgery on his left shoulder while listed with the Sandrigham Dragons before being picked up by the Crows with selection No.58 in last year's National Draft.
It's easy to understand why the footy gods might've been smiling down on Dear in the early minutes of his long-awaited comeback game on Saturday.
Dear collected a loose ball deep in the forward line and showed off his athleticism with a swift sidestep around his opponent, before sprinting in to an open goal. His teammates flocked from all parts of the ground to celebrate in recognition of the hard yards Harry has put in behind the scenes.
"I was pretty nervy and I had a pretty rusty sleep last night just thinking about the game," Dear admitted.
"But as soon as I got out there the boys really got around me, so those nerves eased off a fair bit.
"That goal was obviously a good start for me, but I couldn’t find the ball much after that!"
Dear's goal was his only kick for the day against the Panthers. He finished with a modest four possessions and one tackle, but it was the teen's courage to simply make it back out onto the field that was the most pleasing part for coaches, teammates and fans alike.
"It's obviously been tough for me this year," Dear said.
"But there's been positives too. I've learned a fair bit watching the boys play with structures and leading patterns and other things like that.
"So there’s the negatives, but there's been some positives out of everything too. I think I'll be a better player for it going forward."
Dear competed hard all afternoon in Adelaide's crucial win over Panthers and said he had "full confidence" in both shoulders during the heat of battle.
His next step is to regain some continuity and confidence in his own game, while helping the SANFL Crows finish off the season in winning fashion.
"I’ve missed a fair bit of footy, so I just need to keep things simple," he said.
"I just want to play as much as I can for the rest of this season and make sure that I'm doing my bit for the team.
"I've had a chance to watch on from the sidelines and the boys have hit some good form recently. We just need to keep ticking away the 'Ws' and keep coming home strong."
