Collingwood Football Club has denied that Bobby Hill will miss the all-important midfield clash against Fremantle this Saturday at the MCG. This marks Hill’s fourth consecutive game not in the lineup. This comes after a month away from the team due to personal reasons and illness. The 29-year-old forward has struggled to maintain his position on the pitch through the early portion of this season. Of course, he’s only played five games this year.
Hill’s last game was in Round Eight against Geelong, where he reminded everyone – including the Saints – of his work as a Norm Smith Medallist. With injuries sidelining him for much of the game lately, affecting both his play and the team’s game plan, it’s been an uphill battle.
Ongoing Absences
Unfortunately it’s been a painful month for Bobby Hill, as he’s been killed off by everything from illness, to injury, to personal circumstance. Personal issues have arisen that made it difficult for him to attend training and games consistently. That all became much more complicated last week as Hill became gravely ill, making his return all the more challenging.
“Hill returned to training over the weekend,” said Collingwood’s head of performance, Jarrod Wade. Hill is taking big steps in the direction of a comeback. Unfortunately for him, he won’t be fit in time to face Fremantle this weekend.
As I’ve written before, the biggest impact of Hill’s absence has been the impact on the team itself. As a coach, development weapon and Norm Smith Medallist, his footy IQ storming forward is a significant loss to the team on both ends. The coaching staff will have to quickly change their plans and strategies moving forward for the next game without him.
Future Outlook
As Hill continues to deal with his personal issues and ongoing health problems, fans and team members alike can only hope that Hill makes a return. With just five games played this season, his impact has been negligible. Hill and Collingwood are both involved in very important matches. They are equally motivated to get back on track in the league.
The team will have to depend on other players stepping up in Hill’s absence. They will need to be on fire with a red-hot Fremantle crew in the other corner. The capper on all of this is the pressure to deliver results only intensifies with each match Hill is unavailable.
