Terry Hill

Terry Hill’s early career can be seen as the straw that broke the back of the controversial draft system. The Souths junior had his bags packed to join Warren Ryan at Wests when Easts stepped in and selected him as their draft choice in 1991. Hill was forced to play for the Roosters (after first declaring he would sit out the season) but the eventual demise of the draft system after it was challenged in the courts by the Players Association saw him gain a release from Easts and ultimately play with the Magpies. With Wests, Hill confirmed his reputation as one of the brightest young prospects in the game but relationships soured with the club when Warren Ryan informed state selector Don Furner that Hill would not be available for the third match of the 1993 State of Origin series because of injury. Hill complained that he had not been consulted and Furner was forced to admit that the young centre should have been given a medical (Hill was subsequently called into the squad following the withdrawal of Paul McGregor). The following year he joined Manly and although he did not play for NSW that year, he was chosen as one of four centres on the Kangaroo Tour. Hill had a quiet tour, scoring 7 tries in 8 appearances in minor club matches, but came more to the fore in the troubled 1995 season. He played in beaten NSW teams before being chosen for the First Test against NZ, but a four-week suspension for head-butting cost him his place in the next two Tests. Hill was another Manly player to under-perform in the grand final loss to C’bury but was one of Australia’s best players in the Centenary World Cup win at the end of the year. Curiously, he was not selected for NSW in the momentarily reunified 1996 season but after Super League players turned their backs on the ARL, Hill took his place against second-rate Fiji and Papua New Guinea teams. 1996 brought a grand final win against St George but there was no happy ending for Hill or Manly in the divided 1997 season when beaten by an enthusiastic Newcastle team. While Hill continued to play for NSW for the next three seasons, his final appearances for his country was 1997’s sole Test match against a hastily put-together ‘Rest of the World’ team and the one-off Test against NZ in 1998. Unimpressed by new Manly coach Peter Sharp, Hill joined the newly merged W’Tigers for 2000. The fiery centre not only found himself out of favour with national coach Chris Anderson in 2001, he asked for a release from his club after a public falling out new coach Terry Lamb. To Hill’s credit, he buried the hatchet with Lamb at the end of the troubled 2001 season and was in vintage form in the early part of 2002 before suffering a groin injury that required urgent surgery. After a more consistent 2003 season under Tim Sheens, he signed with Souths to see out the remainder of his career but ‘retired’ before the first round of the competition. Hill played his final season of League with Manly in 2005.