Ben Cavarra

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.

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.

Juniors
Cavarra is from Lysterfield, a suburb of Melbourne, and was educated at St Joseph's in nearby Ferntree Gully. 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. He also tied for the Morrish Medal (the competition's best and fairest) on 16 votes, 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.

VFL
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 cm), but also his lack of speed and kicking accuracy. 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.

Over three years at the club, he played 51 games and kicked 44 goals, and won Frankston's best and fairest in 2014 and 2015 (finishing runner-up in 2016), earning interest from West Australian Football League clubs. 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. Cavarra joined another VFL team, Williamstown, where he switched to a small forward position. He kicked 66 goals in 40 matches over two seasons; in both, he led the club's goalkicking and was named in the VFL's team of the year.

AFL
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. Cavarra was delisted at the end of 2021 season.

VFL return
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.

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

Statistics

 * Statistics are correct to the end of 2021 season

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2020
 * scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2019
 * || 25 || 0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
 * - style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
 * - style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
 * style="text-align:center;"|
 * 25 || 3 || 4 || 3 || 15 || 10 || 25 || 5 || 8 || 1.3 || 1.0 || 5.0 || 3.3 || 8.8 || 1.7 || 2.7
 * scope="row" text-align:center | 2021
 * 25 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 0.0
 * - style="background:#EAEAEA; font-weight:bold; width:2em"
 * scope="row" text-align:center class="sortbottom" colspan=3 | Career
 * 4
 * 4
 * 3
 * 16
 * 10
 * 26
 * 6
 * 9
 * 1.0
 * 0.8
 * 4.0
 * 2.5
 * 6.5
 * 1.5
 * 2.3
 * }
 * 2.3
 * }

Personal life
Cavarra studied a teaching degree at Wesley College, working part-time as a teaching assistant during his course. Before being drafted into the AFL, he worked at Rowville Primary School. After his AFL debut, he cited education as a career to potentially return to after finishing with football.