Stephen Hill has reflected on his career as he approaches his 200th game when Fremantle take on Melbourne at TIO Stadium in Darwin on Saturday night.
Hill first played for Fremantle in round one of the 2009 season against the Western Bulldogs.
The no.3 draft pick made an instant impact in a literal sense by kicking a goal inside the opening 30 seconds of the game.
“You never forget your first game,” Hill said.
“I think it was probably all I did that game but I was lucky enough to kick a goal with my first kick.”
Hill quickly built on his nine-disposal effort on debut to rack up 21 touches in round six against West Coast and earn a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination.
Since then he’s been a lock as one of Fremantle’s running midfielders - before moving into the backline in 2018 - and has played 20 or more games in a season on seven occasions.
Hill is the third indigenous player to reach the milestone at Fremantle alongside Michael Johnson and Antoni Grover and the third fastest at the club to the mark behind Matthew Pavlich and David Mundy.
“I guess playing 200 games, not a lot of players get to do that so I’m pretty lucky to be able to do it for a great club and I’m super honored,” Hill said.
‘It’s something that I’ll probably look back once I finish my football. But at the moment I’m just still focusing on what I can do now.”
Hill said he felt his best football came around the 2015 season when he helped Fremantle push to the minor premiership.
The 28-year-old feels he still has a lot more football left in him.
“I’m still looking to get the best out of myself and keep improving,” Hill said.
“I’ve had ups and downs over the year. Hopefully, I can just keep that consistency going and just keep getting the best out of myself.”
While Fremantle fell to 17th placed Brisbane in round 15, Melbourne also had a shock loss to 16th placed St Kilda.
Hill expects a big contest with both teams looking to bounce back on what is expected to be a humid evening.
“It’s going to be challenging conditions,” Hill said.
“Melbourne’s probably struggled a little bit lately but they’ve been good for most of the year and it’s going to be a tough challenge in Darwin.”
“We have got to make sure we compete and do a bit better than we did on the weekend.”
