Tom Williams (Australian footballer, born 1986)

Tom Williams (born 17 July 1986) is a former Australian rules footballer with the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League. Drafted with the 6th pick in the 2004 AFL Draft, Williams was a late convert to Australian Rules, having been an all-round sportsman, playing representative rugby union for Queensland in U-18s. Williams retired in 2014.

For the Fitzroy player from the 1930s, see Tommy Williams (Australian footballer).
Tom Williams
Personal information
Date of birth (1986-07-17) 17 July 1986
Original team(s) Morningside (QAFL)
Draft No. 6, 2004 National Draft, Western Bulldogs
Height 198 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight 100 kg (220 lb)
Position(s) Defender
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2007–2014 Western Bulldogs 85 (14)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2014.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Tom's father Steve played for the Parramatta Eels in the New South Wales Rugby League between 1975 and 1976 and was a co-founder of the Brisbane Broncos.[1]

Williams was identified as a talent by Mark Browning, former Sydney Swan turned AFL Queensland talent manager. He was rushed into the 2004 Under 18 championships having played just 15 games of Australian rules football, from which he was taken as the Bulldogs first round pick in the draft.

Despite having broken his ankle three times since joining the club,[2] Williams has shown promise of becoming a key position defender, giving the club plenty of reason to keep him on the list.

Williams made his debut against Richmond in round four of the 2007 AFL season where the Bulldogs registered a victory against Richmond. Willams played well enough to earn a NAB Rising Star nomination in round 18.[3]

Statistics
[4]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2007 Western Bulldogs 121301736714064210.00.15.65.210.84.91.6
2008 Western Bulldogs 1261131306127120.20.25.25.010.24.52.0
2009 Western Bulldogs 121400846514952130.00.06.04.610.63.70.9
2010 Western Bulldogs 122312142117259103310.00.16.25.111.34.51.3
2011 Western Bulldogs 1217221236618959250.10.17.23.911.13.51.5
2012 Western Bulldogs 123332514391831.01.08.34.713.06.01.0
2013 Western Bulldogs 122128816520.51.04.04.08.02.51.0
2014 Western Bulldogs 127614826742870.90.16.93.710.64.01.0
Career 85 14 12 534 393 927 356 114 0.2 0.1 6.3 4.6 10.9 4.2 1.3

Victoria Harbour incident

On 4 October 2007, Williams and fellow team member Daniel Cross leaped into the water of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong to rescue a woman attempting to commit suicide. The woman did not want to be saved. They hauled her to safety after hearing bystanders screaming for help. When they emerged from the harbour they both had minor bruises and cuts. Both were reported to be in good spirits after the incident.[5]

Following the incident, both Williams and Cross were awarded certificates of commendation by Hong Kong's Director of Marine.[6]

References
  1. AFL Record Round 19, 2007. pg 74
  2. Lange, G., Williams & Harbrow to debut Archived 23 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Western Bulldogs Football Club, 19 April 2007. Retrieved on 23 April 2007.
  3. Witham, J., Williams puts his best foot forward, Western Bulldogs Football Club, 8 August 2007. Retrieved on 12 August 2007.
  4. "Tom Williams". AFL Tables. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  5. AAP, Bulldogs AFL stars to the rescue, The Age, 5 October 2007. Retrieved on 5 October 2007.
  6. AAP, Bulldogs awarded for bravery Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, westernbulldogs.com.au, 5 December 2007. Retrieved on 5 December 2007.
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