Hill’s Happy Place for 200 Games

By ZAC MILBANK

The West Adelaide Football Club has been Logan Hill’s ”Happy Place” for the past 15 years.

Since arriving in Adelaide as a fresh-faced 19-year-old from the small Victorian country town of Catani, Hill has only ever experienced life in South Australia by driving down Milner Road no less than four times a week to be with his beloved Bloods.

Just as it was extremely difficult to tell his teammates that Saturday’s clash against Norwood at Hisense Stadium would be his 200th and last in the red and black, he is dreading not having a reason to report for duty at Richmond.

”I will absolutely miss it,” Hill, a school teacher at Mercedes College, admitted.

”I actually spoke (to his teammates) about driving down Milner Road, that it was going to be one of things I will miss because I knew I was going to my happy place.

”But I will find other happy places now I guess.”

Making his Hostplus SANFL League debut in Round 2 of 2008, Hill is extremely grateful for making the decision to follow his coach at Coburg, Andy Collins, to West Adelaide.

An horrific leg injury in his debut season set Hill back for the best part of three seasons until he returned to peak form.

It was during this period his love for Westies blossomed, ensuring his determination would strengthen to win a premiership with the club which looked after him during his ”dark days.”

”The one thing I take away from that experience is what the football club did for me at that time,” the 34-year-old said.

That’s when I developed a real bond with the football club because it was soo good for me in my time off with the broken leg.

”The club was constantly in contact with me when I went home (to Victoria) and made me feel a part of the family.

”So I really wanted to repay them for what they did for me in that time.”

Having ridden the ups and downs at Richmond, the reliable backman will always cherish playing in West’s drought-breaking 2015 premiership victory.

And he holds fond memories of warning team-mate Kaine Stevens not to celebrate too early in the Grand Final win against the Eagles, moments after he was told the same thing by fellow defender Adam Hartlett in the final quarter.