At 202cm and 108kg, David Hille always had a big presence on the footy field.
In some respects he was a ruckmen from generations past. While many modern ruckmen are athletes first and footballers second, Hille had skills and footy smarts of which many midfielders would be proud. He was strong overhead, used his body cleverly and had a thumping right boot.
As the game changed and the aerobic requirements of ruckmen became greater, Hille evolved. He was one of few ruckmen who could match Dean Cox in his prime, and became a threat in front of goals later in his career. His ability to lead from the goal-square, jump and mark the ball at its highest point meant he sometimes resembled club great Matthew Lloyd – just one size bigger, as the 19 on his back would suggest.
When Lloyd suffered a season-ending injury early in 2006, Hille was elected to fill his role – not as full-forward, but as the captain of the Bombers. Two years later, Hille won Essendon’s Best and Fairest.
Though he was a fierce competitor on the field, he always played the game in the right spirit. He crashed heavily into opposition ruckman Jamie Charman during a match in 2006, but signalled to Brisbane trainers upon realising Charman had been seriously injured.
“It’s just a game, and we love it, but sometimes it’s taken out of perspective,” Hille told teammate Jobe Watson in an interview that aired on Channel Seven during Hille’s last game.
“It’s just a game, and we love it, but sometimes it’s taken out of perspective” – David Hille.
Hille was involved in a tragic car accident that killed three of his schoolmates before his AFL career began. Subsequently, he always knew there was more to life than chasing a ball around.
He was never one to bask in the media spotlight that came with being a footballer, but spoke up when it came to the issue of road trauma, as the face of TAC’s ‘Buckle Up’ Campaign.
“As an AFL footballer I am reluctant to use my position to shape anything, because I believe we receive too much attention in the community already,” he said in 2010.
“But there are moments when we need to become bigger than ourselves, and in my life, this is one of those moments. When I am old and have long left this fine club, it won’t much matter to me whether any small kid aspires to follow my football heritage. But it will mean the world to me if they hear what I am about to say: In wearing a seatbelt you get to save a life.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ9DcGl1eek
Throughout his 197-game career with the Bombers, Hille also became a strong supporter of Ladder – the AFL Players’ Association’s official charity – which was founded by his former-teammate Mark Bolton.
Having pulled stumps on his footy career, Hille is better prepared to transition into the next phase of his life than most. He completed a Bachelor of Business (Property) in 2012 and has always managed a healthy work-life balance away from the game. He might be the first player in the game’s history to have had a two-week holiday in France in the middle of a season – something he managed earlier this year. Though Hille will clearly miss the game and the Essendon Football Club, one gets the sense he’ll find a way to get by without it.
Hille is one of eight nominees in line for this year’s AFL Players’ Madden Medal. The award is given to a retiring great each season, recognising the player’s contributions to the game both on and off the field. The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the Sofitel on October 4.