DRAFTED by Hawthorn at No.33 in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft, speedster Bradley Hill has made an impression in his five senior games this season, despite starting four of them as the sub.

The 19-year-old talked to hawthornfc.com.au this week after playing his first full game in the 162-point win over Greater Western Sydney.     

After four games as a sub, you finally got to start on the ground against the Giants. What was it like?

Yeah, it was good, but it was different. I was a bit more nervous than just coming on in the last quarter when everyone is a bit more fatigued. By the last quarter I was feeling it. My legs started cramping up. I'll have a few more games, hopefully, and get used to it.

How did you feel about being the sub for your first few games?

I reckon it was a good way of getting into the game. When you come on you feel fresh, and everyone else looks a bit slower. 'Clarko' (coach Alastair Clarkson) just wanted me to come on and make an impact, to run as much as I could and try and get the ball inside 50.

You played your first game against West Coast in Perth, where you're from. A nice coincidence that you got to do that?

Yeah, it was really good. All my family and friends didn't have to travel over here, and I got to spend an extra night there at Mum's house. But it wasn't the best game by me. I didn't really do much. (Hill came on in the last quarter and had two disposals and one tackle in the five-point loss.)

It was a pressure cooker game. You got a bit more of it in your second game...  (he had nine touches after being subbed on in the third quarter of the big round 10 win over North Melbourne).

I knew what was going to happen, and we were up a bit when I came on. All the boys were pretty good, too. They gave me the ball whenever they saw me.

Let's go back to last year. Can you tell the story about your interview with the Hawks at the NAB AFL Combine?

When you have your interview at the combine they ask you a lot of questions, and the beep test was the next day, so they asked me what I was going to run. I said, 'I'm going to try to get a 16'. They said, 'oh, really?' It looked like they were a bit shocked. But I did it.

(Hill's score of 16.1 set a new beep test record for the combine.)

Had you reached that level before?

I hadn't done a beep test that many times before, but the week before the combine I did a 15.5. At the combine I had someone running with me until 15.12 (Will Hoskin-Elliott, later drafted at No.4 by Greater Western Sydney), so that helped me push harder.

Was it similar over pre-season with you and Isaac Smith pushing each other along?

He's got me at the moment. Hopefully in the next couple of seasons I'll catch him. We do a 2.2km time trial, which is four laps around the outside of the oval (at Waverley). He has me by maybe 15 seconds. He's quick.

On draft day, did you know that Hawthorn was thinking about selecting you?

No, I didn't expect to come to Hawthorn. I'd only had one interview with them, at draft camp. I sort of thought maybe the Eagles, because I'd met up with them a couple of days before the draft. I wouldn't have wanted to go to Fremantle. I didn't want to play with my brother (Stephen), just because people might have judged me against him more if we were on the same team.

So when you heard your name called and you knew you had to move to Melbourne, what was your reaction?

I was happy I got picked up, but I was thinking, 'I've got to leave in two days.' But it was all good after that. I'm not missing home at all. I like Melbourne. It's a bit different to Perth, but I'm enjoying it. I'm good with the weather. It's not too bad.

Was Stephen at your first game?

Yeah, he came into the changerooms. He was a bit nervous about coming into the Hawthorn changerooms, but he came in. But he didn't stay at the game because he didn't want to sit at the game with the West Coast supporters. So he went home and watched on TV.

Does he give you a lot of advice?

I talk to him probably once a week on the phone, but we don't talk that much about footy. Sometimes we do. He just asks me how I'm going and tells me how I've played.

When did you start to think you might be able to crack it for a senior game?

Maybe after I was named emergency a couple of times in a row. My first senior game was in round four. I came in that Wednesday morning and I was in the lift with 'Clarko', and he said, 'what are you doing this week? Are you coming to Perth?' I was meant to be going back that week anyway, so I said, 'yeah, I think so'. He said, 'Well, you're playing this week.' It was pretty exciting. Wednesday is our day off, so no-one was here. Just me and Andrew (Boseley, the Hawks' rookie-listed defender) came in. So I rang my mum and told her.   

Has it been easy to adjust to the professionalism needed for AFL football?

I sort of knew what it was going to be like, because of Stephen. And I don't really have friends over here apart from the [Hawthorn] boys, so it's not like when I finish footy I'm going to go and hang out with my mates. I'm with all the boys all the time, so we're at footy training, and if not, at home with Andrew, who I live with.

Is it just the two of you in the house?

We live with a host family, Cathy and Jim. They're really good.

Do they do all of your cooking and cleaning for you?

We've got to learn how to cook. If we don't Cathy sort of gets into us, saying, 'you've got to do it tomorrow night'. She's trying to teach us how to do stuff like that.

Will you move out at the end of the year?

Hopefully I can stay there again next year.

What do you get up to outside of footy?

Not much. When we have a day off I normally just stay home and relax. I might go to the shops or watch a movie, or some of the boys might come around and we'll play a bit of FIFA or something.

A lot of the other Hawthorn boys love their NFL and NBA. Do you follow other sports?

I don't even watch that much footy. I'll watch a bit on the weekends, but I don't watch any of the shows during the week. I like the NBA. When the playoffs were on I was watching that a bit, but other than that, no. I like watching the athletics when Usain Bolt or someone like that is running. I'll be watching every day of the Olympics.

I want to ask about what happened over summer with the police. You were driving and they signalled you to pull over, and you didn't. What did you learn from that?

It was a stupid thing to do. I should have stopped straight away. I don't know what I was thinking. I was around the corner from a mate's place, so I went there. I learned a lot from it. When I came back to the club I had to go in and talk to the boys in the leadership group, which I got a bit nervous about. But they were good. They just told me, 'you've stuffed up once, don't do it again'. They told me I'll have to earn respect. I think I have now. Most of the boys are pretty good with me. They like to have a laugh.

Who are your best mates around the club?

All of the boys are pretty good. You can talk to all of them. Derick Wanganeen and Cyril Rioli, I hang around with them. But most of the boys are pretty close.

And what about your coaches? Who have you worked the most closely with?

Adam Simpson and Brendon Bolton are the midfield coaches, so I work with them. 'Clarko' is quite good as well. He always has a laugh and stuff. All the coaches are pretty good. They come up and talk to you.

What's Alastair like when he's angry?

He can be a little bit scary.

What are your goals for the rest of the year?

I hope I can hold my spot, but just playing five games this year has been really good. I didn't expect to play in my first year. Hopefully I can get a few more now.




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