Newly-elected Hampden league administrator Trent Hill goes Under the Auld Pump this week to discuss his new role, his background as an AFL boundary rider and growing up in Warrnambool to becoming a primary school teacher.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
AT A GLANCE
Born in Warrnambool in June 14, 1983.
Wife: Bridget. Children: Levi, Arlo and Ned.
Parents: Philip and Jaylene. Siblings: Emma and Amy.
Education: Warrnambool East Primary School before going to Warrnambool College. I also spent four years at Deakin University.
Sporting highlights: Playing for South Rovers reserves side when they won the premiership in 2011 and being the boundary rider for some AFL games in 2012.
Trent, let's talk about your role as a boundary rider in 2012. What was that all about ?
I had moved to Melbourne in 2011 searching for jobs in the media. I ended up getting a part-time job with CrocMedia working as a boundary rider with AFL Nations. I think I worked as a boundary rider for 13 games in that year but the highlight undoubtedly was working with Rex Hunt and Sandy Roberts in a game between Collingwood and Fremantle at the MCG. I also worked with Cycling Victoria doing bits and pieces as well as working for Aboriginal Housing in administration. Bridget and I spent four years living in Melbourne before we decided to come back home to Warrnambool.
What line of work did you get involved in when you moved back to Warrnambool?
After my studies at Warrnambool's Deakin University I took up a job as a school teacher. My first posting was at Merrivale Primary School where I was a physical education teacher there for one year before transferring over to Jamieson Street primary school. I was a class room teacher for five years. I taught children in grades five and six - a range of different subjects including maths, reading, writing and science but I took a change in my working life in December last year.
Can you elaborate on what your career change is all about?
Yes. I was appointed as the administration officer for the Hampden Football Netball League at its annual general meeting in December.
Was it a big decision to change from being a school teacher to the administrator with the HFNL?
It was a big decision. I spent a fair bit of time tossing things around and finally decided on the job with the HFNL. I loved my time teaching in particular at Jamieson Street primary school. I got a lot of enjoyment watching children develop not only their learning skills but in life I've been very passionate about sport and in particular football all my life so I thought it was a perfect job. The HFNL has really gone to another level over the last few seasons and I'm confident that will keep on happening. It's a very exciting time to be involved with the HFNL at any level whether it be as a player or club or in administration. There's a real hype about the footy and netball.
Clubs have been doing a lot of recruiting in the off-season and that's generated plenty of interest from fans. The HFNL is in a good place financially. We've got over 40 businesses on board as sponsors with South West TAFE, McDonalds, Sungold and Powercor as our major four. Business have found the HFNL is a great branding tool for them. Our list of sponsors come from different areas of the south-west which is very heartening. I think one of the reasons why the league has received a real boost is the inclusion of the under 23 (interleague) competition having Jonathan Brown on board which has created plenty of interest.
Trent, what's the admission price for fans this year?
The price is the same as last year. It's set at $12 an adult. We're able to hold the price at that amount due to our sponsors. We're expecting big crowds this year on the back of the news that former AFL players Ben Cunnington and Aaron Black will be playing for Warrnambool and all the other clubs have picked up some handy recruits.
Major redevelopment works at Hamilton's Melville Oval will see Hamilton playing four games at Dunkeld, four at Hawkesdale and one at Port Fairy. They will all be home games for Hamilton. Netball has played a huge role in the success of the HFNL and the same will happen again this year. We're expecting the competition in all the grades of footy and netball to be very keen. We can't wait until the 2024 season kicks off on Good Friday with South Warrnambool playing Koroit. It should be a cracker of a game but the game that will create plenty of interest is when Warrnambool plays Koroit under lights at the Reid Oval on Friday, April 5. We've got senior netball being played on that night and I would say with fine weather we should get a huge crowd as they'll all want to see Ben Cunnington playing for the Blues.
Where did your footy career begin?
I started out playing in the under 14s with South Warrnambool. Brian Brown was the coach and then I played on the under 16s and under 18s. I never played in a junior premiership side. I was unlucky not to have played in a premiership in the under 14s as I broke my right leg at school. We lost two under 16 grand finals to Koroit and Warrnambool. A mate of mine Julian Claridge encouraged to go and play with South Rovers and I was lucky enough to play in a reserves premiership. Lee Anderson was the coach and Shane Hart was captain. It was a huge thrill to play in that premiership side.
Did you play any other sports in your younger days?
I played a lot of tennis at the supergrass and the indoor tennis in weekly competitions and played in the domestic basketball comp until I was 18. I never played cricket when I was young but one of my mates Daniel Paterson got me playing cricket at Nestles. I played in the minor grades for years. My highest score was 76 runs against Koroit out at Victoria Park in a division three game and I was lucky enough to get 5 wickets for 32 runs against Brierly in another game. My career as a cricketer finished in 2019 but I'm still heavily involved with Nestles helping out with their juniors in the age bracket from five to eight years old. We teach the young kids the basic skills of cricket and I really love it.
