Senior coach Justin Longmuir would relish the chance for Stephen Hill to stay involved with Fremantle and the playing group following the 218-game player’s retirement on Tuesday.
While Longmuir doesn’t believe Hill is interested in coaching at this stage, he believes his experience and knowledge can continue to be valuable.
“He's a great of our Club. He's not going to go out and be a keynote speaker anywhere but I'd love him to be around and mingle with the players and pass some of his experiences on to our younger players,” Longmuir said.
“I know he's got tight relationships with Liam Henry and Michael Walters and a number of our players, so I don't want him to go away and disappear, I want him to be around the Club and pass on some of that stuff to all our players.
“I don't think he wants to be in footy full time. He wants to get away, spend time with his family and I think after what he's gone through, you need to step away and have a bit of time off just to refresh and get the energy back.
“We'll sit down later and he'll have a role in the NGA as well. We've named one of the NGA groups after him. His legacy will be there in those means.”
Longmuir said Hill’s retirement was a great loss to Fremantle considering he was only 31 years of age.
“The reflection on his (retirement) is disappointment. I'd love to have him at full strength, full fitness and playing his best footy,” Longmuir said.
“For him to go through the injuries that he's been through over the last two, three years has taken its toll. It does wear you down when you put so much effort into coming back and it happens again, time and time again.
“I just really want to remember him for the great player he was. What I remember about Stephen is obviously his speed and silky skills, but he was the ultimate team player.
“(He would) play anywhere, play any role for the team and do anything required for the team to win.
“He was one of our best tacklers and best defensive players as well as being one of our best offensive players.”
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