Fremantle Dockers fan favourites Hayden Ballantyne, Stephen Hill to play alongside Jeff Farmer in Legends Game

Jeff Farmer and Hayden Ballantyne lining up next to each other in a forward line is like a Fremantle fan’s dream. The pair of fan-favourite Dockers champions will take the field together for the first time in Thursday night’s Legends Game at Marvel Stadium. They are in a group of four former Dockers involved in the star-studded showpiece match, alongside 2013 grand finalist Tommy Sheridan and Stephen Hill — the man Ballantyne described as one of his favourite teammates. And they join forces with a pair of West Coast greats — Ben Cousins and Norm Smith medallist Andrew Embley — for the All Stars in a bid to take down Victoria’s best. Sheridan is part of a stacked Victorian side that also includes Eagles legend Luke Shuey. WATCH THE FRONT BAR TONIGHT ON SEVEN AT 7PM TO SEE THE LEGENDS GAME FULL TEAMS “It’ll be good fun to reunite with my old mate Stephen Hill and hopefully I’m playing on Tommy Sheridan so I can towel him up,” Ballantyne told The West Australian, stoking footy’s old border rivalry. “I never got to play with Jeff … he’s a bit of a character but he can seriously play.” Hill’s appearance is a throwback to one of Fremantle’s greatest-ever moments. On the way to the club’s only grand final in 2013, Hill kicked the famous goal that sealed a win over Geelong. “I reckon I might spend a bit more time on the bench than that day, I’d say. But that’s OK,” the mercurial ex-Docker told The West. “I’ll be trying to get a few kicks but it’s all about having a bit of fun for an important cause with some great people involved.” Ballantyne couldn’t wait to reunite with his long-time teammate — and be on the end of his inch-perfect kicks again. “When he kicks it in, you know it’s going to land on your chest. He’s a smooth mover and someone I really enjoyed playing with,” he said. “We got drafted together, so we played a lot of footy together.” Hill played the last of his 218 AFL games in 2021 and then spent two years playing country football with Gingin in the Mortlock Football League. “Since then I’ve been on minimal training, so I am just hoping I don’t go out there and do a hamstring on national television,” he said. “I’ve gone on a couple of runs the last few weeks since I found out I was playing but that’s probably the extent of my preparation.” This won’t be Ballantyne’s first game of football since he left the Dockers, the cult-hero small forward played with mates at Pinjarra after his AFL career ended. The All Stars team also includes guns like four-time Hawthorn and Geelong premiership player Isaac Smith and Adelaide favourite Andrew McLeod. Smith’s long-time teammate Cyril Rioli is set to make a rare public appearance since leaving Hawthorn. “There will be a few decent small forwards,” Ballantyne joked. “There might not be a lot of passing going on, there might be a few shots from outside 50 or from the boundary.” FOUR’N TWENTY LEGENDS GAME WILL BE LIVE AND FREE ON 7 AND 7PLUS ON THURSDAY AT 5PM AWST