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2025 – The Dare to Hope Match & The “Gun to the Gut” Campaign

On Easter Monday 2025, more than 87,000 fans packed the MCG to watch Hawthorn and Geelong come together for the Dare to Hope Match — raising vital awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer research.

This year’s game shone a spotlight on the brutal reality of pancreatic cancer. With no early detection test, no screening program, and survival rates of just one in ten beyond five years, it remains one of the deadliest and most overlooked cancers. The powerful “Pancreatic Cancer is a Gun to the Gut” campaign drove home this truth. The urgency was underscored by the loss of Geelong great Mick Turner, who passed away in December 2024 — only eight months after the 2024 match where he called himself “one of the lucky ones” having undergone the Whipple procedure, the best current treatment for pancreatic cancer. 

Off the field, the “Jump the Gun” challenge saw a relay team of sporting greats and media personalities — including Billy Brownless, Zach Tuohy, Isaac Smith, Dave Hughes, Maya Dear, Jordan Lewis, and middle-distance star Abbey Caldwell — attempt to break the 400m world record. With every donation moving the starting line forward, fans helped raise an incredible $400,000. While the record wasn’t broken, the challenge reflected the uphill battle of beating pancreatic cancer.

On the field, Hawthorn’s Jai Newcombe was awarded the Paul Dear Memorial Medal for his trademark courage and relentless spirit in a tough contest against Geelong.
In 2025, Dare to Hope was also embraced by Greater Western Sydney. Initiated by young Giants star Finn Callaghan—whose aunt was Paul Dear’s oncologist—GWS took to the field in purple socks for their Easter Saturday clash against the Adelaide Crows, helping us shine a light on the lack of awareness and limited funding for this disease, and the urgent need for broader support, while proudly raising awareness for pancreatic cancer.

Dare to Hope 2025 Gallery

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