Ben Cavarra

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Ben Cavarra
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-12-20) 20 December 1995 (age 28)
Original team(s) Eastern Ranges (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 45, 2018 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2020, Western Bulldogs vs. Collingwood, at Marvel Stadium
Height 173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight 72 kg (159 lb)
Position(s) Small forward
Club information
Current club Box Hill
Number 52
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2020–2021 Western Bulldogs 4 (4)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2021.
Career highlights
  • Morrish Medal: 2013
  • 2017 VFL team of the year.
  • 2022 VFL team of the year.
  • 2022 VFL team of the year Captain
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Ben Cavarra (born 20 December 1995) is an Australian rules footballer who currently plays for the Box Hill Hawks in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He has also served as an assistant coach at the club since 2024.[1][2]

Overlooked by Australian Football League (AFL) clubs because of his height, Cavarra spent four seasons in the VFL with Frankston and Williamstown, where he took on his role as a small forward, before being selected by the Western Bulldogs in the 2018 AFL national draft, the sixth time he had nominated.

Career

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Juniors

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Cavarra is from Lysterfield,[3] a suburb of Melbourne, and was educated at St Joseph's in nearby Ferntree Gully.[4] He spent a successful stint of junior football at the Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup, starting by winning the 2012 Pennington Medal (the club's best and fairest award) as a bottom-age player. A strong 2013 season followed; Cavarra captained the Ranges to a premiership, winning the TAC Medal as best on ground in the grand final.[4] He also tied for the Morrish Medal (the competition's best and fairest) on 16 votes,[5] and won a second consecutive Pennington Medal, a feat that had previously been matched only by Sam Mitchell and Rory Sloane. Cavarra also represented Vic Metro at that year's AFL Under 18 Championships. He missed out on attending the national draft combine, instead attending the Victorian session, where he ran a 20-metre sprint in under three seconds, a personal best.[4]

"I can't change my height, I've just got to look at the positives from it ... I'm able to be quicker around the ground and to have a low centre of gravity and be able to put my body on the line"

Cavarra after being overlooked in the 2013 AFL draft[3]

VFL

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Cavarra was not selected in the 2013 AFL draft, despite his accolades; clubs were chiefly concerned about his short stature (he stood at just 173 centimetres (5 ft 8 in)),[3] but also his lack of speed and kicking accuracy.[6] He considered joining a VFL team, and decided on the Frankston Dolphins, as the club was not affiliated with an AFL team, meaning he would have a greater chance of playing in their senior side. Cavarra had largely played as a midfielder prior to joining Frankston, but expressed a desire to take on a forward-line role.[3]

Over three years at the club, he played 51 games and kicked 44 goals,[7] and won Frankston's best and fairest in 2014 and 2015 (finishing runner-up in 2016),[8] earning interest from West Australian Football League clubs.[9] Despite Cavarra's strong performances, he continued to be overlooked in AFL drafts. Frankston, in financial difficulties, decided not to compete in the 2017 VFL season.[8] Cavarra joined another VFL team, Williamstown, where he switched to a small forward position. He kicked 66 goals in 40 matches over two seasons;[6] in both, he led the club's goalkicking[10] and was named in the VFL's team of the year.[6]

AFL

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Cavarra was selected by the Western Bulldogs with pick 45 in the 2018 national draft, marking his first successful nomination after five failures. His first season was marred by injury; he could only play 12 VFL games after suffering hamstring and quad tears, fractured ribs, which caused a minor cut to his liver, and a broken scapula. Over his off-season he practised Pilates sessions to strengthen his body, ensuring he could complete pre-season training. He made his senior debut in the opening round of the 2020 season, scoring a goal with his first kick.[11] Cavarra was delisted at the end of 2021 season.

VFL return

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After being delisted by the Bulldogs, Cavarra signed with the Box Hill Hawks for the 2022 VFL season. In a year in which he finished third in the VFL goalkicking, Cavarra and teammate Fergus Greene were selected as forward pockets in the VFL Team of the Year. Cavarra was also named captain of the VFL Team of the Year.[12]

Cavarra suffered an ACL injury while training in the 2023 VFL pre-season, preventing him from playing any games that season.[13]

Statistics

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Statistics are correct to the end of 2021 season[14]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2019 Western Bulldogs 25 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2020[a] Western Bulldogs 25 3 4 3 15 10 25 5 8 1.3 1.0 5.0 3.3 8.8 1.7 2.7
2021 Western Bulldogs 25 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0
Career 4 4 3 16 10 26 6 9 1.0 0.8 4.0 2.5 6.5 1.5 2.3
  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal life

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Cavarra studied a teaching degree at Deakin University, working part-time as a teaching assistant during his course. Before being drafted into the AFL, he worked at St. Peters Primary School where all of the student started to love him and joining in for classes. After his AFL debut, he cited education as a career to potentially return to after finishing with football.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Staff & Volunteers". Box Hill Hawks. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  2. ^ "VFL 2024 Player Profiles". Box Hill Hawks. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Diamond, Brent (3 May 2014). "Ben Cavarra stands tall in Dolphins' heavy loss to Box Hill". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Ryan, Conor (23 October 2013). "Eastern Ranges captain Ben Cavarra wins second consecutive Pennington Medal". Knox Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  5. ^ Twomey, Callum (9 September 2013). "Four players tie for Morrish Medal". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Waterworth, Ben (23 November 2018). "AFL draft 2018: Western Bulldogs pick Ben Cavarra — the most wonderful story of AFL persistence". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Ben Cavarra". AustralianFootball.com. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Ben Cavarra to join Williamstown — unless he gets drafted to AFL". Frankston Standard Leader. News Corp Australia. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  9. ^ Townsend, John (3 October 2015). "Another Frankston boy headed to WAFL". The West Australian. Seven West Media. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  10. ^ de Haer, Katie (26 November 2018). "Cavarra to live out his dream". westernbulldogs.com.au. Telstra Media. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  11. ^ a b Ryan, Peter (28 March 2020). "Ben Cavarra's wait is over ... and just begun". The Age. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Host of Hawks win VFL and VFLW awards".
  13. ^ "Tough news to share". Twitter. Box Hill Hawks. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024. We'll be without Ben Cavarra and Ben De Bolfo for the 2023 VFL season, with the pair having each ruptured an ACL in training.
  14. ^ "Ben Cavarra". AFL Tables. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
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