Ian ‘Bobby’ Hill Zac Williams and Jeremy Finlayson share a special bond at GWS Giants
Zac Williams, Bobby Hill and Jeremy Finlayson are teammates, but they call each other brothers. And Hill has no doubt his mentor and housemate Williams will shine on the biggest stage.
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Zac Williams, Ian Hill and Jeremy Finlayson share an unbreakable bond.
The club’s indigenous trio refer to each other as brothers, not teammates, not friends.
Brothers.
Their heritage means everything. All three are key members of the Giants’ Reconciliation Action Plan group. Williams and Finlayson helped design the club’s indigenous jersey earlier this season – a handprint design surrounding the number on the back in a circle. It was symbolic of the connection the Giants players share.
Avid artist Hill handpainted a ball which was presented to opponents Melbourne ahead of the Sir Doug Nicholls round clash at the MCG.
Hill has missed out on Grand Final selection, but he expects his mentor and housemate to shine on footy’s biggest stage. And, win or lose, sees Williams going to another level in the months and years to come.
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Hill moved into chez Williams a fortnight ago with Finlayson a stone’s throw away.
There’s plenty of laughter in the house, with the only tension arising from Williams’ dog.
“It’s funny, the only time I see him (Zac) angry is when we get home and the dog has ripped something up,” he laughs. “Watching him blow up is pretty funny.
“No, it’s great. There’s something special about Zac. When he sparks, the team sparks. There’s something different about him. He could play absolutely anywhere.
“He’s going to go one step bigger next year, an All-Australian.
“The bond we have is unbreakable. We always get doubted, we’re always the underdog. We like that. Just makes us work harder. We’ve just got a lot of heart.
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“We’re building something amazing and it’s going to be amazing to see how far we can go.”
Williams takes his mentoring role very seriously.
“Early days when I got here was Nathan Wilson, Shaun Edwards and Curtley Hampton here so I was in Bobby and Jezza’s position at one stage too as a young boy,” he said.
“I’m at the point in my career where I’m the senior player out of us three. I’m still only 25, so I’m still pretty young, but I know that those two boys look up to me and I need to set the standard for them.
“So as soon as Bobby came from Perth I knew it was a big move and like most boys from Perth they might get home sick. Jez and I did everything we could to make Bobby feel as comfortable as possible and he fitted in perfectly and all the boys love him. We’re very close us three.”