Hilton was a utility player, recruited to St Kilda from Dromana.[2] He only managed to break into the seniors at St Kilda six times and switched clubs in the 1992 National Draft, selected by Melbourne at pick 99.[3]
In his first season with Melbourne he was restricted to the reserves and was a member of their premiership team.[4] He was, however, regularly selected in 1994, making 19 appearances, three of them in finals.[5] In 1995 he also played 19 games but he added just five more games in 1996 and was delisted.[5]
