Sport
26 January, 2023
Aidan Hare joins Peel Thunder in Western Australian Football League
There was one hurdle that Maryborough’s gun midfielder Aidan Hare had to clear before making his way to Western Australia recently. “I was speaking to mum and dad — at first, they were a bit unsure and they wanted to make sure that I hadn’t...
There was one hurdle that Maryborough’s gun midfielder Aidan Hare had to clear before making his way to Western Australia recently.
“I was speaking to mum and dad — at first, they were a bit unsure and they wanted to make sure that I hadn’t forgotten about uni, but I told them that Peel Thunder was going to look after me when it came to that, as well as a job and a place to stay, and then they started to come around a little bit more. It was something that I was keen on doing,” he said.
Nevertheless, those promises were just the cherry on top of Hare’s relocation to the state for the 2023 season, having earned a contract to play with Peel Thunder from the Western Australian Football League (WAFL).
The Thunder, who are affiliated with the Fremantle Dockers, were looking for midfielders from Victoria who could help fill a role for the upcoming season, having finished fifth before bowing out in the first semi-final in 2022.
After looking around country Victoria for names that could fill their needs, they settled on Hare — where the numbers that he accumulated as an inside midfielder in the Bendigo Football Netball League (BFNL) speak for themselves.
Averaging 38.2 disposals, with 16.3 of them contested, as well as 9.1 clearances a game, 4.4 inside 50s and 7.8 marks a game, it was clear that Hare’s best football was a significant step above the level of the BFNL.
However, Hare was still shocked to get the phone call from Peel.
“It was in mid-December, when I just got home from work, and had a missed call from Peel Thunder general manager Matt Rosa,” he said.
“I wasn’t too sure who it was, then I gave him a call back, and he ended up speaking to me about the possibility of coming over. I had a couple more chats with family about going over, and decided that it was an opportunity that I wanted to take and that’s how it all came about.
“Matt said he asked around about midfielders to the recruiters as that was where he was looking to improve. They’ve been recruiting around Victoria in the past, and they were looking around Vic Country and my name happened to pop up. When I got the message, it was a big turn of events. It was genuinely unexpected.”
The timing of Hare’s contact with Peel Thunder was spot on — after he and fellow Maryborough product Liam Latch had been cut by Victorian Football League (VFL) team Williamstown, owing to the amount of experienced AFL and VFL players the Seagulls had signed.
“I was training at Williamstown at Christmas with Liam Latch. We ended up getting cut from there as they recruited really well, and recruited too many players that had past VFL/AFL experience in our position, so they didn’t want to waste our time and let us know early as they thought we’d be able to give another VFL side or something else a crack. When I saw the WAFL opportunity pop up, I thought I’d take it and make the most of it,” he said.
Hare says he won’t be wasting any time getting to grips with the rigours of a full season of state-level football, already having a brief taste of VFL football with North Melbourne in the past.
“Speaking to Coby Perry and a couple of guys around the Maryborough Football Netball Club, they were all for it and said at your age, you have to take your opportunities while you’re young and you’re at uni,” he said.
“Jayden Hooper was another one I spoke to, he said he could have played up in Queensland and he regrets not doing so to this day, so everyone was getting around and encouraging me to take it.
“I’ve spoken to Coby quite a bit about what it takes to be consistent at the next level. He thinks I’m ready for it, so hopefully I can live up to that. The plan is to keep in touch with him and let him know how I’m going, and what questions I have along the way. He’ll be my go-to guy.”
Already, Hare has made a discernable impact — today, he’ll be participating in Fremantle’s match simulation, against the likes of Dockers stars Andrew Brayshaw, Nat Fyfe, Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson, after answering the call from Peel to help fill a void in midfield owing to injuries and players in rehab.
“We’ve had a few sessions at Fremantle’s clubrooms, last Saturday we trained at their facilities and used their gyms and their pools,” he said.
“Last Friday, I got asked if I wanted to train with the Fremantle boys, as they need players for their match simulation session. They were looking for midfielders from Peel, so they rang me and said if I was keen on going up there, I could do it. That’s something else that came out of nowhere.”
Getting a secure job, accommodation and the opportunity to continue his teaching course was also a high priority for Hare, which he says has been ticked off early to ensure he could put full focus into his studies and football.
“Settling in has been really good. The club has welcomed me with open arms, and it’s definitely a different vibe,” he said.
“I’ve been around a couple of VFL sides now, but Peel feels more like a country football vibe — everyone is real friendly, coming up to me and asking me questions.
“I’ve also settled in with a housemate who is a Peel boy, who’s been great showing me around the town. It’s been good settling into the town of Mandurah, and I’ll be starting work, and have uni teed up as well.
“I’ll be studying at Murdoch University in a teaching course, doing my third year there. I was looking for a teachers’ aide job, something similar to what I did in Maryborough, but I ended up going with the Mandurah Country Club, which is a golf course I live about 600 metres away from.”
For his football, however, Hare has one simple goal that he’d like to achieve with Peel for the season, having been promised a role as an inside midfielder who will be required to win plenty of contested ball.
“The number one goal for 2023 is to get around the boys, crack into the side and play consistent football, doing whatever I need for the team. I’m hoping to have a solid season and play as many games as I can, trying to be as consistent as I can while I’m at it,” he said.
“I think I’ll be looking at more of an inside role, I’ve always been there in the past, but when they recruited me, they had known that, so I’ve spoken to the coach and he’s been impressed with my inside game. He’ll look to help develop my outside game as well, but it’ll be more of an inside role.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know the Fremantle boys who do come down and help me on game day — it’ll help me with my football at the end of the day.”
Hare will soon learn when he will make his debut with Peel, with the WAFL fixture to be released in late January.