Stephen Hill toiled and starred for Fremantle in his 200th game but the result told another story as Melbourne ran out 54-point victors at TIO Stadium.
With little to show from their efforts on a sticky Saturday night in Darwin, the Fremantle playing group paid tribute with their words as Hill became the 10th player to reach the milestone for the club.
While Sheridan’s 23 touches were second only to Hill’s 25 for Fremantle, he admitted he felt ‘flat’ about not being able to see his teammate off with a fitting team performance.
“All losses suck and then you think about Stephen in his 200th,” Sheridan said.
“There’s not a better bloke going around or a better team man and player.
“I can’t speak higher of him. It’s disappointing for Stephen and we would have loved to get up for him.
“It was obviously an important game for us.”
Hill’s performance was one of the positives to take from the clash, with the running midfielder putting in a season-best performance in what has been an injury interrupted year for the 28-year-old.
“I thought he looked back to his best,” Sheridan said.
“It’s just those quick steps when he gets the ball and accelerates, no-one can really catch him and he makes such smart decisions.
“He’s just a great player and it’s a credit to him and his family as he’s just a fantastic human.
“To get the 200 games, the last 50 have probably been a bit tough for him, but tonight he was in full flight.”
Ruckman Sean Darcy, a teammate for two of Hill's 10 seasons at Fremantle to date, echoed Sheridan’s comments.
“He’s unreal and a champion at this club,” Darcy said.
“He’ll go down as one of the greatest and you know what you’ll get with ‘Hilly’.
“He just works all night and we’re disappointed not to get the result for him.”
Senior coach Ross Lyon also praised Hill and felt the group still put the effort in for the milestone man while battling hot and humid conditions.
“I thought Stephen, he couldn’t have tried any harder tonight,” Lyon said.
“I would think he would have looked at his teammates and saw them pretty exhausted and thought ‘sometimes you’re just not good enough’.
“We weren’t good enough tonight and that’s just sometimes the fact.”
