FIVE months ago David Hale and Ben McEvoy respected one another as opponents, now both can’t speak highly enough of each other as teammates.
A veteran of 197 AFL matches and now a premiership ruckman/forward, Hale knows what it takes to be successful at the elite level.
Hale was one year older than McEvoy, 24, when he joined Hawthorn at the end of 2010 but did so under different circumstances.
His career had stagnated at North Melbourne, languishing in the VFL because of the talent of their ruck division, while McEvoy joins the Hawks following several seasons as St Kilda’s number one ruckman.
Hawthorn and Alastair Clarkson saw something in the versatile Hale who was used as a stay-at-home forward for the Kangaroos and that gamble paid off particularly in 2012-2013 where his influence has been profound.
When Hale arrived at Hawthorn he worked hard to earn the respect of his teammates before becoming a consistent and valuable member of the best 22, something McEvoy is now aiming to do.
But it seems the 200cm former Saint had Hale’s respect before he entered the Ricoh Centre as a Hawk, recalling how difficult it was to play against him.
Now Hale has a different level of respect for his new ruck partner.
“He’s got a good tank, that’s something you definitely remember when you play against him out on the track,” he told hawthornfc.com.au
“He runs up with all of our little midfield runners, so he’s definitely a little bit in front of where I am because that definitely is not my strong point.
“He’s a great runner and got some big mitts that he wraps around the pill, so he can take a few good, strong grabs.”
The feeling, however, was mutual.
“I’m glad to be wearing the same colours as him now because I never really enjoyed playing against him – he’s always been really tough to play against,” McEvoy toldhawthornfc.com.au
The ruck duo have spent a lot of time together both on the field and off it in McEvoy’s first four months at the Club and have worked closely with Ruck Coach, Damian Monkhorst where Hale has been more than impressed by what he’s seen from McEvoy.
“Everyone knew he had a good tank when we recruited him but he’s also always pushing himself,” he said.
“He has also done a bit of work with myself and ‘Monkey’ (ruck coach Damian Monkhorst) with the ruck stuff, so hopefully that’ll help with a few tips as well as we head into the game so we can see what he can do.”
As much as McEvoy has learnt from Monkhorst though, he has also gained valuable knowledge and experience from Hale.
“It has been awesome to be able to train against him because I’ve been able to pick up a few things,” McEvoy said.
“He’s obviously been playing for a long time and he’s been really good at learning the tricks of the ruck trade.”
With the Hawks’ opening NAB Challenge match against Brisbane just two weeks away and Round 1 edging closer, the pair are now concentrating on further developing their understanding of one another.
“We’ve been working really well together and now that we’re starting some match play, hopefully both of us can rotate through ruck and forward and work on that relationship, which has been going pretty well so far,” McEvoy said.
Hale is hoping the 24 year old can add to the potency of the already talent-laden forward line.
“He’s obviously played a fair bit of footy, got a lot of footy knowledge and brings a fair bit of leadership as well from his days at St Kilda,” Hale said.
“I’m sure he’ll spend a fair bit of time in the ruck and up forward as well this year, hopefully he can kick a few goals as well and add another dimension to our forward line we might have missed a little bit considering ‘Maxy’ (the retired Max Bailey) didn’t do that much last year.”
