Hearts ace shares origins of secret weapon but admits he may need to make an alteration

The centre-back arrived on loan from Bournemouth in the January transfer window and has impressed in his seven appearances to date, including the 3-0 Scottish Cup victory over Hibs at Easter Road.

The match before that, a 5-0 win over Aberdeen at Tynecastle, saw Hill play a big part in the opening goal as his throw-in sailed off the heads of many Dons defender, ultimately leading to a goal for Josh Ginnelly.

It’s something the England under-21 international has had in his arsenal throughout his pro career after learning of this unique ability as a youngster.

However, he does admit he has to get sharper at delivering short throws in the attacking third as opponents are beginning to figure out his delivery and prepare for it better as a result.

“I’ve always just had a pretty big throw,” said the 21-year-old son of former English Premier League player Matty Hill. “I discovered it when I was playing Sunday League. I got myself frustrated we were losing at that point and I just thought ‘I’ll try and throw it into the box’ and I did.

“At primary school, we had a competition to throw a cricket ball and I really found out I could throw a ball far when we had to do that and I broke the school record.

“In Year 11, my final year a high school, I came in third, I think it was, in England in javelin in the national competition. Definitely in the top five, anyway.

“That’s a nice little thing to have in the armoury but I want to mix it up and go short now, because people will be expecting me to go long. I obviously want to try to beat them and throw it over them. But I’ll need to start going short.

“There’s things I want to add to my game but slowly but surely before the end of the season I’ll get to that point at Hearts because I’m learning every day.”

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