St Kilda's Bradley Hill has fallen in love with football again and he has his daughter Harriet and coach Ross Lyon to thank for his career rejuvenation.
Harriet, not even two years old, was put into an induced coma early in the season after suffering a serious episode of croupe (an upper airway infection).
Hill is now heading into September with Harriet as his biggest inspiration.
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"Definitely one of the most scary experiences I've had," Hill said about his daughter on Friday.
"Especially because they're so young and they can't talk, they don't know what's going on and they're freaking out."
Hill's daughter has thankfully made a full recovery, with the ex-Hawk and Docker saying his 2023 season, one of his strongest in recent years, was the one that made him rediscover his love for the game.
"I'd probably put it down to sort of just enjoying my footy again. I've sort of got that love back again," Hill said.
"The last couple of years I wasn't enjoying it as much, [I] probably let that outside noise get to me a little bit."
With an average of 20 disposals, Hill heads into September led by coach Ross Lyon, who resumed the helm at Saint Kilda at the start of the year with a newfound confidence.
"[Lyon] helped me find that love again and just the culture he sort of built," Hill said.
Ross and Hill first met when the pair were at Fremantle between 2017-2019, but the Dockers did not make the finals during the pair's time west.
"It's great to play finals under him and see what he's like in the finals. I'll see if he gets a little more 'old Ross' again," Hill said.
As for the location of their elimination final against GWS, despite Marvel Stadium being the Saints home base, Hill knows how to win important games on the biggest stage of all, the MCG.
The wingman was part of Hawthorn's three-peat premiership sides of 2013, 2014 and 2015, starring across the board at the MCG.
"I was hoping for the MCG, if they had Marvel (Stadium) I would've been flat," Hill said.
"Some of the boys like Marvel, but for me, I just love that big ground and the open ground and I can get to work on my running."
But for the Saints' opponents, the Giants, the excitement to play on the MCG is just as strong as Hill's, after failing to reach the ultimate glory back in 2019 when they fell in the Grand Final to Richmond.
"We've won 10 out of our last 12, so the confidence is pretty high," Giant Lachie Whitfield said on Friday.
The Saints host GWS at the MCG on Saturday, September 8, in a twilight match before the qualifying final between Brisbane and Port Adelaide.
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