- Played great for Manly, NSW and Australia
- Reached the pinnacle of the sport in 274 career games
- A Colorful Cult Hero Dies in the Philippines
The football world is in a state of shock and mourning following the death of Manly, NSW and Kangaroos great Terry Hill at the age of just 52.
The Sea Eagles legend suffered a heart attack in the Philippines, where he had been spending more time in recent years while working for a charity, News Corp reported.
Terry Hill (pictured playing for Manly in 2005) rose to the top of the game during a long and highly successful career.
Born in Newtown, Hill (pictured running with the ball for Manly) was one of the world’s best players in his prime and represented New South Wales and Australia on several occasions.
Hill played 246 matches during a club career which saw him turn out for Souths, Easts, Wests, Manly and the Wests Tigers, as well as 14 matches for NSW and a further nine for his country.
Born in the western Sydney suburb of Newtown, he made his first grade debut for Souths in 1990, moved to Easts in 1991 and then to Western Suburbs in 1992 before finding his home with Manly in 1994.
He excelled in the centers for the Sea Eagles for six seasons, guiding them to premiership glory in 1996, then returning to the club to finish his career in 2005 after playing 49 games for the Wests Tigers over four years.
Known as one of the game’s most colorful characters, he was a regular on Channel Nine’s The Footy Show during its most successful years and fans will also remember his star performances in adverts for Lowes men’s clothing.
Nicknamed ‘Tezza’, Hill was one of footy’s most colorful characters and became a regular on the Footy Show (pictured) at the height of his popularity, as well as appearing in well-known TV adverts for men’s clothing chain Lowes (below).
Hill was at the center of one of the defining dramas of the modern game when he was recruited to play for Easts in 1991, although he agreed to join Wests.
He and other players took legal action against the game’s governing body at the time, the NSWRL, and won their case at the High Court.
“These players were very brave men because they had no financial backing and they all put their names on the line, which meant they were putting their homes on the line, because if they had lost the League would have come after them to get fees,” Footy said. The great-turned-lawyer Kevin Ryan said of Hill and his fellow stars.
Hill – nicknamed “Tezza” – made his representative debut for City in 1993, the same year he broke into the Blues State of Origin team for the first time.
More soon…
