As Australia farewells Simon Hill, a next gen commentator looks to make his mark

The voice of Australian football, Simon Hill confirmed on Tuesday that his call of the first ever Melbourne Derby A-League Grand Final would be his last as a commentator in the A-League, leaving in his wake a gaping hole in football broadcasting.

Following up a story presented on the 10 News bulletin on Tuesday afternoon, Hill confirmed the news on X, saying his thanks to the response of thousands of grateful fans.

“I have made the decision to return to the UK, where I hope to continue my commentary career,” he said.

“I’ve spent 22 brilliant years in Australia, most of them covering this wonderful, crazy (& at times, infuriating!) competition and I’ll miss it & my colleagues at 10, but I feel now is the right time.

“I’ll still be around for the WCQ’s in June – but a big thank you to everyone in the [football] community who (largely!) accepted me as one of their own.”

Known for not only endearingly obvious love for the game, but also his willingness to upset the apple cart and ask difficult questions of the game’s key stakeholders that needed asking, Hill’s seismic impact on the Australian game will be sorely missed by many.

But as he readies his notes for the final time in an A-League fixture at AAMI Park, just a couple of boxes over, another commentator – inspired by many of Hill’s infamous moments over the years – will be preparing for one of the biggest games of his career as well.

Jude Dolan is a broadcaster for The Collective – who currently hold the radio broadcast rights for the A-League – and will also be on the mic for the A-League Men’s Grand Final.

Like Hill, Dolan’s upbringing was in the UK, where he was fascinated by the sports broadcasting world. In his own words, where other kids were interested in “normal things like cars and gaming”, Dolan’s childhood obsession was those behind the mic of some of football’s biggest games.

“Upwards of 50 times I reckon, I’d watched back as a kid a recording on the Sky box at my old London home of Arsenal 5-0 Porto in the 2009/10 Champions League,” he said.

“Not because of Nasri’s solo goal or the Nicklas Bendtner hat-trick, but in awe of and to learn from the ITV commentator’s call of the match.”

Fast forward 15 years, Dolan has become a mainstay of the NPL NSW commentary team, this season’s A-League radio calls, and is now preparing for the showpiece of the Australian domestic scene.

From an Australian commentary perspective, no one is more worthy to seek inspiration from than the man a few boxes down on Saturday night. But along with “countless hours spent hearing his talents on my TV screen”, Dolan has a more personal relationship with Hill.

“In 2020, Simon called a match I had put on for my grassroots start-up project The Wednesday League, played at CommBank Stadium,” he said.

“For 22+ random school kids from the Forest district of Sydney, correctly called by Simon as ‘the biggest day of our footballing lives’.

“Hearing that iconic voice call the shoddy amateur skills of mine and my classmates’ was simply surreal, and a moment I will forever cherish and draw inspiration from.

“Saturday being able to share the AAMI Park media suites with him will be an evening I’ll always hold dear.”

Australian football owes Simon Hill a large debt of gratitude for his contribution to the sport in this country.

But thankfully, after he departs back to the UK, his impact on the next generation of football broadcasters – like Dolan – will be there for all to see in commentary boxes all around the country.

You can listen to The Collective’s broadcast of the Grand Final – including a four hour pre game show – on their website or on the Mixlr app, from 3pm AEST.