Bobby Hill’s Road Back Is Long — But He Will Return

Bobby Hill is back at the AIA Centre, boots on, running laps with his teammates — and somehow that still hurts to talk about. Because when the coach looks you dead in the eye and says the bloke is ‘a long way away from playing footy’, you know this isn’t just your standard pre-season management speak.

Craig McRae doesn’t do fluff. He’s not a bloke who’s going to dress up bad news in a sparkly bow for the media. So when Fly says those words about one of our most electric footballers, you take it seriously. You hold your breath, and you remind yourself that Bobby Hill being at training at all is further than he was a few months ago.

Let’s Remember What Bobby Hill Means to This Club

Sometimes I reckon people outside of Collingwood don’t fully appreciate what Hill brings to our footy club. They see the highlights — and there are plenty of them — but they don’t feel what we feel when he gets the ball in space.

This is a bloke who won the 2023 Norm Smith Medal. On the biggest stage in the game. Grand Final day, Collingwood versus Brisbane, one of teh greatest games ever played. And Bobby Hill was right there in the thick of it, doing things that made you leap off your couch and scream at the telly.

Speed that’ll make your eyes water. A leap that belongs in a basketball stadium. Competitive fire that burns from the first bounce to the final siren. That’s Bobby Hill. That’s what we’re waiting to get back.

What McRae Actually Said — And What It Means

Fly’s been pretty measured in how he’s discussed Hill’s situation publicly. ‘A long way away from playing footy’ is a phrase that’ll sit heavy with every Pies supporter, but it’s also honest. And I’d rather honest than false hope that crashes and burns come Round 6.

Hill returning to training is a step. A real, tangible, boots-on-the-ground step. But there’s a massive difference between a player jogging laps and being ready to take on Carlton in the contest on a Friday night with 90,000 people watching. Anyone who’s been around footy long enough knows that.

The training ground is controlled. The pace is managed. AFL footy is anything but. It’s contested marks, heavy traffic in the corridor, contested ball at half-back, bodies everywhere. Getting from A to B when A is light training and B is that level of competition — that’s the journey McRae is referring to. And it’s not a short one.

The Broader Picture for the Pies’ Season

Now here’s the thing that keeps me up at night as a Magpies supporter. We are not a club that can afford to write off any significant chunk of our best players and expect to make September. The competition is brutal right now. Every club is loaded. Every week is a dogfight.

Without Hill, our forward line loses a dimension that nobody else on the list can replicate. Can Jack Ginnivan step up? Absolutely. Is Ash Johnson electric when he gets going? No doubt. But nobody stretches a defence the way Hill does. Nobody makes defenders second-guess themselves with that combination of pace and contested marking ability.

Fly and his coaching staff will have a plan, they always do. But the honest truth is the Pies are a better football club with a fit Bobby Hill than without one. And every week he’s not out there, that’s a week we’re not at full capacity.

No Rush — And That’s the Right Call

Here’s where I’ll say something that might surprise you: don’t rush him back. I mean it.

We’ve seen what happens when clubs bring players back before they’re ready. It’s not pretty. A re-injury, a setback, six months of heartache instead of a few extra weeks of patience. The Pies’ medical and conditioning staff are among the best in the competition and if Craig McRae is flagging a significant timeframe, you can bet that’s based on real information, not just conservative PR messaging.

Bobby Hill is young enough. His best footy is absolutely still ahead of him. If that means we don’t see him in the black and white until mid-season or even later, then so be it. I want him out there healthy, bombing long to the contest, taking screamers and making opposition backlines look silly. Not hobbling through games at 70 per cent.

The footy brain in me knows patience is the right call here. The passionate Pies supporter in me is definately struggling with it. But I’ll get there.

The Rest of the List Needs to Step Into the Breach

While we’re waiting for Hill to get back to full fitness, someone needs to stand up and fill that void. Actually, not one someone — several someones.

\p>And honestly? This is a chance for a few blokes to stamp their names on this football club in a way they might not have been able to with Hill in the side. The best teams in the competition aren’t built around one player — they’re built around depth, systems and blokes who seize their opportunity when it comes.

Think about Collingwood’s recent history. We don’t have a culture of leaning on one star and hoping for the best. We grind. We compete. We make it hard for the opposition week in, week out. That won’t change because Bobby Hill isn’t available early in the season.

The Silver Lining in All of This

I’ll tell you what’s kept me positive through all of this. The fact that we’re even having this conversation — Bobby Hill back at training, the coaching staff talking about timelines for his return — that’s a good story. A few months ago, the uncertainty was a lot darker than it is now.

The sight of Hill back in the black and white tracksuit, moving around the training track, engaging with teammates, working with the coaches — that matters. It matters to his footy club, it matters to the supporters, and I’d wager it matters enormously to Hill himself. This bloke loves footy. He loves competing. He loves this club. Seeing him back in that environment, even in a limited capacity, tells you a lot about his character and his desire to get back.

And when he does get back — because he will get back — what a moment that’s going to be at the G. The crowd will go absolutely berserk. And whoever is in his direct line of sight on that first night back better be paying attention, because Bobby Hill with a point to prove is a terrifying proposition for any opponent.

The Verdict: Trust the Process, Trust the Pies

Look, I’m not going to pretend this is easy. As a Collingwood supporter you always want your best players on the park, always want to be fielding the strongest possible side. And Bobby Hill is unquestionably one of our best.

But Craig McRae has earned our trust. This coaching group has taken us to a premiership and back into the thick of the competition year after year. They’ll manage this situation with the same care and professionalism they’ve shown with every other challenge thrown at them.

Bobby Hill is a long way from playing footy right now. But ‘a long way’ is not ‘never’. He’s back at training. He’s moving again. And one day — hopefully sooner rather than later — he’ll be back doing what he does best in front of a packed MCG in black and white.

That’s enough for me right now. Carn the Pies.