Brad, Bobby Hill feel more like brothers than cousins and will soon be teammates for Indigenous All-Stars

If you didn’t know any better, you’d swear Brad and Bobby Hill were brothers instead of cousins. The pair have built the tightest of bonds despite being born seven years apart and living in different states for five years when Brad moved to Victoria to play, and win premierships, for Hawthorn. Even Brad’s move to Fremantle between 2017-19 didn’t give them many chances to spend time together because Greater Western Sydney drafted Bobby at the end of 2018. But by 2023, they were both in Victoria, with Brad playing for St Kilda and Bobby traded to Collingwood. Now they live in the same suburb, their oldest kids – Harriet and Bobby jnr – were born around the same time and the Hills have become inseparable. Brad and Bobby have been picked to play for the AFL’s Indigenous All-Stars when they face Fremantle at Optus Stadium in February. Brad said that will be a moment he will cherish. “Bobby and I are very close. We live around the corner from each other and our kids were born one week apart,” Hill told The Sunday Times. “We do a lot with the kids, especially the two older ones. We take them out to the pools together and to the park. They love each other. My little daughter always says that Bobby (junior) is her best friend. “We are more like brothers than cousins. Obviously there is an age gap, but as he got a little bit older and was playing nationals at 17s and 18s, I was talking to him a fair bit. When I was at Hawthorn, I’d catch up with him if he came over for state carnivals with WA. That helped to keep our connection strong. I was at Freo when he got drafted but I watched him along the way and was there if he needed advice. “Those first few years are hard when you move away from home. He was in Sydney and that can be tough. But he got his opportunity at Collingwood and then we did a lot of training together in the off-season to get him fit. “He was able to crack in and have a great year, win the premiership, the Norm Smith Medal and then last season he took the mark of the year. He can do some special things. He’s got confidence in himself and can keep up on the big stage. I’m very proud of what he’s achieved. “It’ll be great to play alongside Bobby. It’ll be exciting and hopefully I can set him up with a couple of goals.” Family is important to Brad. He moved from Hawthorn to Fremantle with a dream of playing alongside his brother Stephen. But during three years together, they played just 26 out of a possible 66 matches in the same team. Injuries kept one of them sidelined nearly the entire time. But the pair did get the chance to play side by side for the Indigenous All-Stars. Brad relishes those memories and said February will be an experience that everyone will remember for the rest of their lives. “I remember playing alongside the older guys who I looked up to. To be in the same team and also play with my brother was pretty special,” he said. “But compared to 2013 and 2015, I feel like this one is going to be extra special. I feel like there’s more attention on the game. We’re playing on a big stadium as well instead of the local ones. This feels like it’ll be the biggest one they’ve had. Hopefully we can have more of this going forward. “It’s great to represent our culture and our people and get to play alongside some of the other Indigenous boys. Some of those younger boys, I haven’t played with. To be able to play in the same team and show that flair and exciting footy will be exciting. A lot of those younger boys I really enjoy watching.” February will be the third time Brad has played for the Indigenous All-Stars and the number three has been kind to him. He won three premierships at Hawthorn, signed a three-year contract with St Kilda earlier this year and if he avoids injury, the hard runner will play 300 AFL games. “If I get to 300, it would be incredible. To be able to play footy for as long as I have means I have been very lucky. The goal is to get there. I set that goal five or six years ago. Fingers crossed I don’t get injured and can do it,” he said. “I’ve been very lucky. As a young kid and even when I was 17 or 18, I didn’t think I was going to get drafted. Stephen was always the talented one in the family and the one we knew would get drafted. “I’ve been lucky with soft tissue injuries. I had the injury at Freo when I fractured my knee but other than that I’ve been lucky. I’ve always been able to run and do the high speed stuff and my body has been able to handle it. I’m sure that will stop at some point of my career but I am feeling really fresh. I feel better than I did last year so hopefully I can keep my running power and my speed. I always do a lot of running so it’s not a shock to my body. “I have a passion for running and really enjoy it. I go for big runs because I really enjoy it. I’ll go for a Saturday morning run of about 10-15km. After footy I’m thinking I’d like to do marathons.”