JASON Hill's debut for Hamilton went almost unnoticed - a brief stint on the side of the scrum while Liam Bowden was in the blood bin.
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A handful of minutes. A couple of hit ups. Barely worth a mention in a methodical 27-10 win by the Hawks over Merewether at Townson Oval on Saturday.
Hamilton coach Scott Coleman expects Hills' input and profile to increase markedly as the Hawks push for a fifth straight Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union gpremiership.
Hill, 28, played for Pro 12 club Glasgow Warriors in 2016, had a stint at Doncaster and helped steer Heriots to a Scottish premiership.
Standing 180cm and weighing 108kg, he has played for Scotland under-18s and 20s and the Scotland Club XV.
"He is awesome," Coleman said. "A class above this competition to be honest. He will be a massive asset come the finals."
Hill arrived at the Hawks through their long-time strapper and player Mick McKinley.
"I played with his dad and his best mate is my nephew," McKinley said. "I asked if he wanted to enjoy a bit of sun and play some rugby. He will go back to Scotland at the end of the season and hopefully pick up a professional contract in the new Super Six competition."
Merewether also unveiled a couple of imports on Saturday, English bookends Dave Whiting and Charlie Brown.
Their presence did little to stem a dominant Hawks scrum.
"They only arrived this week," Gill said of the English pair. "I thought they both aimed up and we are really excited to see what they can do over the course of the year."
Merewether started on the front foot and jumped out to a 10-0 lead.
But Hamilton, as they do, worked their way back into the grind. They asserted pressure at the scrum, won the battle of the breakdown and forced the Greens' into errors through swarming defence.
Fly-half Dane Sherratt started the Hawks' revival with a penalty in the 20th minute. A minute later, replacement fullback Zach Crowley bumped off a defender and raced 15 metres. Sherratt then chipped to the corner for Hamish McKie to touch down and give the visitors a 15-10 lead at the break.
The second half continued in the same vein.
Merewether scrapped and battled but couldn't find a spark to get back into the match.
"We knew Merewether would keep coming at us for 80 minutes and we prepared for that," Coleman said.
The loss was the Greens' second defeat of the season.
"It's only June," Gill said. "We have some people coming back, we have the props here now and we are very confident we will be there. It's all about planing and building for September."
Elsewhere Saturday, Chase Hicks scored a hat-trick as Wanderers out-classed Southern Beaches 68-5 at Ernie Calland Oval to retain the Hawthorne Cup and jump above Merewether into second spot.
At Strong Oval, Nelson Bay ended a four-game losing streak with a confidence boosting 39-24 win over Singleton.
Pat Batey scored the winner as Maitland claimed a bruising encounter with Lake Macquarie 21-14 at Marcellin Park.
