Paul Van Der Haar
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | March 7, 1958 , |
| Recruited from | Ringwood |
| Height and weight | 192cm / 93 kg |
| Playing career¹ | |
| Debut | 1977, Essendon vs. , at |
| Team(s) | Essendon (1977-90)
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| ¹ Statistics to end of 1990 season | |
| Career highlights | |
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Paul Van Der Haar (born March 7, 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the VFL. Due to his strong overhead marking ability and his ancestry, he earned the nickname 'The flying Dutchman'. He usually played as a centre half forward but was also used in defence.
Van Der Haar was recruited to the Bombers from Ringwood and was named as the VFL's recruit of the year in his debut season of 1977. He also won the club's 'Best First Year Player' award and was runner up in their 'Best and Fairest'. The following season his development was stalled due to a neck and back injury he received in a trail bike accident. Although he didn't miss too many games because of it he was unable to refind his 1977 form until the mid 80's.
In 1985 he kicked a career best 46 goals, 9 of them in a single game in round 21. He earned 12 Brownlow Medal votes for the year, only Tim Watson got more votes from the Bombers. Despite his goalscoring feats he played in the backline in their Grand Final victory that year. Injury again struck early in the 1986 season when he broke his leg. He only managed a total of 10 games in his next two seasons.
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