While 2017 was a successful year on an individual front, Bradley Hill is eager to see Fremantle improve in 2018 and return to their winning ways.

Freo won eight games and finished 14th on the ladder in Hill’s debut season at the club, with the speedy midfielder winning the Doig Medal as the side’s best and fairest.

But to Hill, the individual accolade means little with his main aim being team success.

“I thought it was one of my most consistent years, but as a team, I want to win more games than we did last year,” Hill said.

“I want to come back this year and just play the best footy I can. Nothing is like playing finals footy, to miss out last year is a bummer, finishing the season pretty early. 

“That is the focus is to pay the best footy we can and whatever happens at the end of it happens.”

The key to Fremantle’s ongoing improvement is through the development of the club’s younger players.

In the 2017 off-season, Fremantle added two experienced recruits in Nathan Wilson and Brandon Matera while taking in 10 new draftees, including picks two and five in the 2017 NAB AFL National Draft in Andrew Brayshaw and Adam Cerra.

At 24 with 117 career games, Hill is now looking to pass his knowledge on.

“I’ve been in footy for seven years now, so when the young kids come in you want to make them feel welcome and you want to help them as much as possible,” Hill said.

“Now I’m getting a little bit older, I can do that and that’s something I want to do this pre-season.

“The aim is to keep playing better footy each year as I get older and, hopefully, help the team and push the young blokes to improve.” 

After sitting out and watching Tommy Sheridan take out Fremantle’s 2km time trial in November, Hill knows he faces a big test if he is to return as Freo’s time trial king later this pre-season. 

In the National and Rookie drafts, Fremantle selected two of the best endurance runners in the country, with Andrew Brayshaw and Stefan Giro posting the best two results in the yo-yo test at the National and State draft combines. 

“I heard there are a couple of young blokes who can run but we’ll have to wait and see,” Hill said.

“I like that challenge and I want to come back here next year and hopefully take it out.”