West Adelaide’s Logan Hill named SANFL Player of the Week after win over North Adelaide
This season has been a frustration for West Adelaide, but there were plenty of reasons for Logan Hill to be emotional on Saturday.
West Adelaide veteran Logan Hill has compared the emotions of Saturday’s win over North Adelaide at Richmond Oval to the 2015 grand final triumph.
While the contest was only a home and away game, the two-point triumph to snap an eight-game losing streak in a frustrating season meant much more to the Bloods than just premiership points.
“It was not the premiership siren on Saturday, but it was not far behind,” Hill said.
“We have had a tough time this year and the ball was deep in our backline and I was lying on the ground when the siren went.
“I looked up at the sky, the emotions are hard to explain. It was great to get the victory, it has been so long coming.
“I don’t want to make excuses, but we lost John (Noble) and Will (Snelling) in the mid-season draft and they were our best two players for the first half of the year. We lost them and had some injuries, it has been hard.”
Hill’s role in the win was significant, picking up 15 possessions, but more importantly limiting the influence of Roosters captain Max Thring in a run-with job.
It was appropriate he should produce such a terrific performance in his 150th league appearance to earn the honour of The Advertiser/SANFL Player of the Week.
Thring has a reputation for being something of a pest on the field, but Hill admits he was the pest on Saturday.
“Max is a really good player and we identified him and Jarred Allmond as the players we needed to shut down as much as possible,” Hill said.
“(Coach) Gavin (Colville) told me early in the week I’d probably go to him, I enjoy those roles.
“He runs really hard forward and it was a good battle.”
The Bloods have developed a habit of strong first quarters and three terms of competitive football, only to undo the committed work with a sloppy quarter.
Hill said the side had been playing “good footy”, but just could not put four strong quarters together.
And despite winning only two games this season, Hill noted the club had blooded plenty of youth and he was adamant it was headed in the right direction.
“The Roosters came at us in that last quarter and in the past we may have folded,” he said. “To the boys’ credit, we managed to hang on and it was emotional after.”