Legendary AFL coach Mick Malthouse has called for St Kilda to dump star midfielder Brad Hill to the VFL after another disappointing performance in Thursday night's 86-point loss to Richmond.
Hill, 27, has underwhelmed at the Saints since joining the club in 2020 on a lucrative five-year deal believed to be worth around $900,000 a season.
The former Docker and Hawk averaged 15.4 disposals from 19 games last year. While it was in reduced quarters, it marked Hill's lowest return since his rookie season.
He has shown improvement in 2021 - averaging 19.7 disposals through the first four rounds - but recorded just 10 disposals in his side's thrashing to the Tigers.
Midfield
Named in the All-Australian squad in his final year at the Dockers in 2019 and widely considered the biggest snub from the final 22, the triple-premiership player has struggled to consistently produce at an elite level for St Kilda since.
Speaking onย ABCย radio after the Saints' defeat, Malthouse believes Brett Ratten's side can bounce back if they make a statement at the selection table.
โThe Saints will rebound, they wonโt embarrass themselves again, if Brett Ratten does the right thing and drops players who should not be in that side,โ Malthouse said on theย ABC.
When asked who should get dropped, Malthouse replied โHill, Brad Hillโ.
However, speaking after the loss, Ratten explicitly said Hill would not be dropped when asked about team selection moving forward.
โWe wonโt drop Brad Hill,โ the Saints coach post-game.
โIt was a five-day turnaround and he didnโt perform to the level he can. He played well last week.
โWe need to back him in and he needs to get going, too. Itโs the same as Nick Coffield and itโs the same conversation I had with him this week. He needed to get going because we canโt keep giving games.
โBut โHillyโ has had some OK performances. In the GWS game, he didnโt get a heap of the ball but what he did with the ball was brilliant in really wet conditions. Last week, he played pretty well.
โI think everybody is putting the spotlight on him, but there are a few others as well.โ
Speaking on SEN radio, Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes also called out Hill, stating "he looked completely disinterested" against Richmond.
โBrad Hill was nowhere again last night,โ Cornes told SENโsย The Captainโs Run.
โHis output through five games in 2021 does not warrant selection in an AFL side who should be fighting for a top four position.
โHe looked completely disinterested โ 10 possessions, zero tackles was all that Hill could manage. Theyโre troubling numbers for a man on $900,000 per year."
Hill has played 173 AFL games since making his debut for Hawthorn in 2012.
St Kilda will look to bounce back in their Round 6 clash against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval next Sunday at 6.40pm AEST.
