In his retirement speech, Stephen Hill acknowledged the physical and mental challenge he faced in the final years of his career as he battled numerous soft tissue injuries.
After playing 190 games in his first nine seasons, he was limited to 28 games in his final four years at the Club.
Hill said a motivating factor through those final seasons was to keep playing in front of the Purple Army.
“The supporters are amazing, just being able to run out in front of our passionate supporters all my career was an amazing feeling,” Hill said.
“It’s probably what kept me trying to hold on the last couple of years, although I had injuries, I just really wanted to get back out there and play in front of our supporters one more time.
“Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, but I was able to do it for so many years and that’s been amazing.”
Hill admitted he would struggle watching Fremantle from the sidelines but said he was excited about the Club’s future prospects.
“I sort of struggle and I’m not very good at watching games from the sidelines. I won’t be in the team anymore but I think I’ll just be able to go and enjoy it a bit more and it won’t be so stressful. I can’t wait,” Hill said.
“This season they have just grown again from last year. With JL (Justin Longmuir) and the coaching staff, I think they are heading in the right direction and it’s exciting times.
“We’ve got a great young group of men coming through and they are playing some pretty good footy this year. We’ve seen a lot of them grow and a lot of guys get opportunities this year.
“I think the future is bright and I guess I’ll be able to enjoy it and watch them hopefully get some success.”
Hill paid tribute to Fremantle’s high performance staff for their hard work in trying to get him back to playing regular football.
“The last couple of years have been tough for me, and I’ve spent a lot of time with them,” Hill said.
“There are a lot of people in footy clubs who put so much effort into us players and the medical team are one of those who put in a lot of hours to get us back playing and performing.
“Although I didn’t get back out there, I appreciate what they have done for me over the last few years.”
