St Joseph’s College recently welcomed Old Boys Michael Hill (1961) and Brendan Hill (1991) to our Headmaster’s Assembly, joined by Brendan’s son and Michael’s grandson, Liam Hill (2024) – a three-generation Joeys cricket family.
Michael arrived at Joeys from Newcastle in 1957 and became a key member of the 1961 GPS First XI premiership team, taking 47 wickets that season, including 12 for 60 against Sydney Grammar School. He went on to make his first-class debut for NSW at just 20 years old, famously taking a wicket with his first delivery, before building a distinguished legal career and co-founding the Newcastle Knights Rugby League Football Club.
Over his five years at Joeys, Michael made an extraordinary contribution to College life. Alongside cricket, he was a member of the College GPS First debating team, he served as a corporal in the air training corps and he finished fourth academically in the leaving certificate, the equivalent of today’s HSC. He was also a member of the council for the Solidarity of our Lady, a group of senior boys committed to deepening their faith through prayer, communion and following Mary’s example in the way we live and treat others. Mick’s four sons also attended Joeys: Andrew (1994), Chris (1989), Jason (1987) and Brendan (1991).
Joining him at the assembly, Brendan had an outstanding record of his own. As captain, he led the 1991 First XI to the GPS premiership and the Australian Schoolboys Cricket Championship and was selected to captain the Combined GPS First XI. Like his father, he excelled beyond sport, receiving the Monsignor Patrick Haydon Memorial Prize for All-Round Excellence, along with prizes in mathematics and economics and achieved the top HSC aggregate in his year. Following school, Brendan also enjoyed a highly successful first-grade cricket career as an all-rounder with the University of Sydney.
Liam continued the family tradition, playing two seasons of First XI cricket, while also contributing to music ensembles and the Second XV rugby team. Since graduating from Joeys, he continued to play rugby for the University of California, Los Angeles, competing at the 2026 World Rugby U20 Championship.
Addressing the students, Brendan reflected on what he learned from playing cricket at Joeys, noting that it was applicable to all sports, and “probably applicable to life too”.
“When I think back about playing cricket here at Joeys, there were two things that maybe set us apart,” he reflected. ”The first one was just having a sense of how we play the game. What’s the Joeys way of playing cricket? And the second was just enjoying doing that, playing the game … It wasn’t only about talent. Mainly, it was about effort. It was about striving … We trained harder than everyone else. We were fitter than everyone else. We took every catch that we could. We made every run out.”
He urged Joe-Boys to define their own standard: “Maybe you can have a think about your style of play. What’s going to be your way? My experience is it’s usually the hard-working one, the extra-effort way.”
He also spoke about the importance of team culture through both success and setback: “The ability of a team to get together and put their arms around the guys who are not going so well … that kind of teamwork, that culture, that morale, makes a big difference.”
Headmaster Michael Blake said the Hill family’s story showed how embracing the opportunity of a Joeys education, developing talents beyond sport into learning and as part of the wider College life, shapes good young men. He reflected on why hearing Old Boys’ stories was important: “With this one family, across six decades with three generations, we see three different journeys.” He reminded students that representing Joeys, regardless of what team they’re in, means playing “with skill and determination, but also with humility, discipline and respect for your opponents and a genuine understanding that you’re part of something bigger than yourself.”
The Assembly was a fitting celebration of family, sporting excellence and the enduring Joeys spirit – values the Hill family has carried across three generations.
Brendan & Michael Hill at our Headmaster’s Assembly, Term 4 2026
