Hill discharged from hospital, escapes serious injury after heavy on-field collision

Andrew Mathieson Published July 24, 2023 at 11.00am (AWST)

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Hill in the hands of trainers following the heavy collision with North Melbourne defender Aidan Corr. (Image: Morgan Hancock/AAP)

Bradley Hill has been cleared of serious injury after doctors discharged the wingman from hospital on Monday morning.

Concerned St Kilda officials had feared on Sunday evening that Hill suffered a season-ending injury.

The Noongar man was rubbed out of the game in the opening quarter after copping a rigorous front-on bump from North Melbourne defender Aidan Corr.

Medics that were on hand rushed Hill, who was able to jog off the ground of his own volition, immediately down the Marvel Stadium rooms to be assessed.

St Kilda opted to send Hill, who was substituted for Jack Billings, into an ambulance to hospital for precautionary scans in the midst of the twilight game.

Earlier, the club had diagnosed the hit to have caused a "significant" damage around the chest after complaining of severe pain.

Coach Ross Lyon suspected the injury was related to Hill's ribs or possibly lungs.

The club will release a full injury report on Tuesday following the Saints' eight-point win that includes addressing his availability for next week's match against Hawthorn.

Corr's bump on Hill lead to the St Kilda wingman being hospitalised. (Image: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

The collision between the pair had appeared to happen in a split second after Hill had tapped the ball to teammate Cooper Sharman before being on the receiving end of the unsuspected hit.

The impact of Corr's bump both lifted and pushed the 30-year-old speedster up off the ground, only to land on his chest before quickly rolling over onto his side.

Hill had started the outing strongly in the first six minutes, picking up four disposals, two marks and two tackles.

Lyon applauded the bravery behind Hill putting his body on the line while bracing for the impact while also clearing the Kangaroo of any wrongdoing in the incident.

"He was setting us alight in that high forward role (and) had a really big hit on the far wing," Lyon said in the press conference.

"I thought it was really courageous – he's a light runner.

"I prefer him to jump out of the way rather than lose him, but he stayed on-line, and Corr really nailed him, which is all fair and square.

"But I hope our members, everyone involved in the club, saw what (Hill) stood up for, and he's been pretty special for me since I've been through the door."

Hill has played 228 AFL games since his 2012 debut that has included 79 appearances for the Saints after requesting a trade from Fremantle at the end of the 2019 season.