Terry Hill: The eerie similarities between the shock deaths of footy great and cricket icon Shane Warne

The shocking death of Terry Hill on Wednesday has brought back memories of the sudden death of Shane Warne for many Australian sports fans.

The footy world is in a state of mourning after cult hero Hill passed away at the age of 52 after an incredible career with Manly, NSW and the Kangaroos.

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. He will also be remembered by fans for his star roles in ads for Lowes men’s clothing.

As a result, tributes poured in for the affable former footy star, while some fans couldn’t help but make comparisons with Hill’s death and Warne’s passing in March 2022.

Like Hill, Warne died of a heart attack at the age of 52, leaving the cricket world in shock. A stand was subsequently named after him at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was celebrated around the world.

Former New South Wales and Kangaroos star Hill died aged just 52

The Spin King died while in Thailand and Hill also died abroad, passing away in the Philippines. The former rugby league star was married to a Filipino woman and was away from his home in Sydney for a few weeks.

‘He had been there [the Philippines] “I called a friend a few weeks ago and said he wasn’t feeling well,” his former teammate Craig Coleman told Nine.

“The mate told him to lie down… apparently he went to sleep and never woke up.”

Hill played 246 games in a club career that saw him play for Souths, Easts, Wests, Manly and the Wests Tigers, as well as playing 14 games for NSW and a further nine for his country.

Born in the western Sydney suburb of Newtown, he made his first-class debut for Souths in 1990, moving to Easts in 1991 and then to Western Suburbs in 1992 before making his home with Manly in 1994.

He excelled in the centers for the Sea Eagles for six seasons, helping them to premiership glory in 1996, before returning to the club to end his career in 2005, having made 49 appearances for the Wests in four years Tigers had played.

Hill was at the center of one of the modern game’s defining dramas when he was called up to play for Easts in 1991, despite having previously signed to join Wests.

He and other players took legal action against the game’s then governing body, the NSWRL, for restraint of trade and won their case in the Supreme Court after a long battle.

The circumstances of Hill’s death have drawn comparisons to the death of Shane Warne

“Those players were very brave men because they had no financial backing and they all put their names on the line, which meant they put their homes on the line because if they had lost, the League would have come after them because of the costs,” says footy. The great lawyer Kevin Ryan said about Hill and his co-stars.

Hill – nicknamed ‘Tezza’ – made his representative debut for City in 1993, the same year he first broke into the Blues State of Origin team.

He was first selected for his country for the 1994 Kangaroo tour and scored a try when he made his international debut against New Zealand in 1995.

He was the leading try scorer in the ARL competition at the height of the Super League war in 1997. He moved to the Tigers in 2000, but could only make 49 appearances in four seasons with the club, before returning to Brookvale to play the club’s last 16 matches. his first-class career in 2005.

He then gave back to the sport that made him famous by coaching bush clubs in Umina and Kincumber.

Hill’s Manly teammate and fellow league legend David Gillespie revealed he saw his mate in the Philippines shortly before his death as they raised money for an orphanage.

“I was with Terry just last week,” he told the publication.

Tributes have poured in for the popular and charismatic former rugby league star

“He was his usual self, the life of the party.

“Terry was fine and everyone was in trouble at the fundraiser. His death is sudden, unexpected and incredibly sad. He was a very generous person.

‘As a player Terry was ruthless, tough and uncompromising. He would give and take.”

Hill’s teammate and later coach at Manly, Des Hasler, told Daily Mail Australia: ‘So young. I believe he had some health problems. He had quite a decorated career. A real larrikin. He certainly enjoyed his football.”

The Sea Eagles paid tribute to the club in a statement released shortly after news of his death became public.

“Terry was a much-loved and respected figure, not only at the Sea Eagles, but also in rugby league, where he played for several clubs,” Manly CEO Tony Mestrov said.