Stephen, the older Hill, would help guide his younger brother through his development years and together they’d celebrate a flag like the Scotts, the Cornes or the Burgoynes.
But the world isn’t perfect and that makes it a hell of a lot more interesting.
Fremantle’s Stephen (23) and Hawthorn’s Bradley (20), who grew up playing footy for West Perth and Quinns Rocks, have shared a lot throughout their lives.
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READ NOWOn Saturday, they’ll share the biggest moment of their sporting careers against each other in the AFL Grand Final.
And without Stephen at Bradley’s side, it’s been 2004 premiership player Shaun Burgoyne ” well aware of what it’s like to be the younger AFL sibling ” who’s mentored the Hawks’ Hill on the way to his first AFL season decider.
Burgoyne won a premiership at Port Adelaide with older brother Peter, before joining Hawthorn in 2010.
Hill, excited about facing his older sibling on the grand final stage, singled out Burgoyne as a significant influence among other leaders like captain Luke Hodge and former skipper Sam Mitchell.
‘Shaun Burgoyne has played the most finals out of everyone, he’s been really good,’ he said yesterday.
‘He talks to me a bit during the week and on game day.
‘They’ve all been pretty good.’
Two years ago, an AFL grand final was a mere dream as Hill plied his trade with West Perth’s colts at Arena Joondalup.
It’s become a reality much sooner than he ever would have imagined.
‘This early in my career ” second year ” I didn’t expect it at all,’ he said with a laugh of disbelief.
The silky attacker snapped the most important goal of his career at a crucial stage of the Hawks’ pulsating final quarter come back against Geelong in Friday night’s preliminary final.
‘I felt pretty excited after kicking it’