Bradley Hill didn’t expect to be leaving Perth two days after the 2011 National Draft.

He had been interviewed by West Coast on multiple occasions and expected to be playing for the Eagles in 2012 until Hawthorn called out his name at selection 33.

It was a shock to the then-18 year old who all of a sudden needed to relocate to Melbourne to follow his AFL dream.

“I had only had one interview with Hawthorn at the draft camp but I had had a few interviews with West Coast – I actually thought I was going there at first,” he told hawthornfc.com.au

“You never know where you’re going to go in the draft – I was just happy to get drafted but did sort of want to stay home.

“Getting drafted to Hawthorn though was good for me and they were one of my favourite clubs in Melbourne so I was pretty excited to get here.”

It was a nervous but exciting time for Hill, whose brother, Stephen had joined Fremantle in 2008.

Unlike his brother though, Hill was required to be on a flight to Melbourne just two days after being drafted.

“When I first heard my named called out, I thought ‘oh I’ve got to leave in two days’, I have to pack my stuff and say goodbye to my family but I was also excited,” he remembered.

“I was excited but nervous at the same time because I had to move from Perth to Melbourne within two days,” he remembered.

“I had to pack my stuff and say goodbye to my family but I was definitely excited to come to Hawthorn.”

He had to too, say goodbye to Stephen, with whom he shares a close bond and as such, was seated next to him on the couch in the midst of family and friends as clubs selected their new players.

But even the presence of those he held dearest did little to subside his nerves.

“I was just at a family friends house with most of my family and also a few friends – there was probably about 20 or 30 of us there watching,” he reflected.

“It’s so nervous sitting there and waiting for your name to get called out and you’re hoping that you do. You don’t want it to get to pick 200 or late and your name isn’t there.”

The lead-up to the 2011 National Draft was an interesting one for Hill, who broke the beep test record at the AFL Draft Combine that year.

Media outlets were in a frenzy over the youngster from West Perth, then known as ‘the brother of Stephen.’

He smashed the record of 15.8 set by former Port Adelaide rookie Tom Rischbieth in 2005, reaching 16.1 in the endurance test before also winning the 3km time trial.

Consequently, his draft stocks sky-rocketed and placed his name at the forefront of the minds of club recruiters.

“It was a good result for me, testing well because it probably helped a lot with me getting drafted a bit earlier than what I thought,” he said.

Hill had grown up idolising Cyril Rioli and Lance Franklin and before he knew it, both became his friends.

The pair, along with a number of players were quick to welcome the speedster to the Club as Hill found himself inundated with text messages and calls.

“I mainly got text messages from players at the Club because most of my friends and family were with me,” he said.

“You get text messages from boys like Cyril (Rioli) and ‘Buddy’ (Lance Franklin) – it was a pretty awesome feeling.

“I got a lot of text messages that day.”