IT HAS been four years since Bradley Hill last played in the finals, and he is getting tired of sitting September out.
Hill's track record before then was brilliant. He featured in the Hawks' three-peat of premierships from 2013-15, and was a key player in their remarkable run with his speed and class.
But for the past three years – his full stint at Fremantle – Hill's Dockers couldn't crack the top-eight and the new St Kilda recruit has watched on for long enough.
Having arrived at Moorabbin during last year's Telstra AFL Trade Period, Hill is desperate for his side to be back in the action, with St Kilda keen to break its eight-season finals drought.
"The club wants improvement. To play finals would be a tick and if we can get there I'd be pretty excited," Hill told AFL.com.au at the launch of new panel show Yokayi Footy.
"They want to improve from last year and for me personally I want to get back and play finals. If we can do that I'd be very happy."
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The 26-year-old will be a key factor in the Saints getting there. After drawn-out negotiations, the club landed the playmaker last off-season to fill their need for genuine line-breaking runner.
Hill showed his class in the Saints' opening Marsh Community Series clash with Hawthorn last month, and will line-up again on Sunday against Collingwood at Morwell.
He was one of five additions the Saints landed during last year's trade period, alongside Dougal Howard, Paddy Ryder, Dan Butler and Zak Jones.
"They had a lot of blokes out last year, but have a lot of younger blokes who are getting better and there's another four guys who have come along to the club when I did so there's going to be a lot of different players out there," he said.
"It's pretty exciting, it's going to be tough for spots, which is what you want to be a good side. You need to have some good players missing out."
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Fremantle's 2017 best and fairest winner carried a knee injury through last season that took some management in his first summer at St Kilda, but Hill said there was no nerves ahead of his maiden appearance in the red, white and black. Not yet, anyway.
"When I play my first game I will be a little bit nervous, but I have played a lot of footy," he said.
"My first game is my 150th game as well so it is going to be weird playing in a milestone game in my debut for a new club. I've got the family coming over so I'm pretty excited about it."
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Hill was among a number of Indigenous players to attend Thursday's launch of new program Yokayi Footy, a joint partnership between NITV and the AFL, which be broadcast weekly on NITV, AFL.com.au and the Official AFL Live App, SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand.
Hill said he was keen to be a part of the program.
"It was great to see what they're doing and to have the AFL jump on board and helping it out. I'm pretty excited to see what they do and hopefully they can get me on one of their shows," he said.
"People can learn a lot more about the culture and the way Aboriginal people connect with each other and how close we are as people. I'm pretty excited to see what they do and what content they bring out."
