Paul Williams (Australian rules footballer)

Paul Williams (born 3 April 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer with both Collingwood and Sydney in the Australian Football League. He is also a former assistant coach in the AFL, which most notably included a brief period as caretaker coach of the Western Bulldogs towards the end of the 2011 season.

Paul Williams
Personal information
Full name Paul Williams
Date of birth (1973-04-03) 3 April 1973
Original team(s) North Hobart (TFL)
Draft No. 70, 1989 National Draft, Collingwood
Height 177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Position(s) Utility
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1991–2000 Collingwood 189 (223)
2001–2006 Sydney 117 (84)
Total 306 (307)
Coaching career3
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
2011 Western Bulldogs 3 (2–1–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2006.
3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2011.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career

Williams began his AFL career with Collingwood, joining them from Tasmanian club North Hobart. Playing in a number of positions ranging from half back to half forward, the tough-tackling Williams was a regular in the mostly unsuccessful Collingwood side of the late 1990s, racking up 189 games and kicking 223 goals (his best being 6 against Carlton in 1996). However, at the end of the 2000 season, he was traded to Sydney for two draft picks. There, he immediately made an impact, winning two consecutive Bob Skilton Medals in 2001 and 2002, as well as being selected in the All-Australian team of 2003.

In 2005, Williams played in the Swans' premiership side. In doing so, he established an AFL record for most matches played by a player before being in a premiership side, with the Grand Final having been his 294th game. Shane Crawford surpassed this record in 2008.

On 13 May 2006 against Richmond at Etihad Stadium, Williams became the 45th player to play 300 VFL/AFL games. The Swans won this match by 118 points, setting a record for the biggest winning margin in a match featuring a player playing his 300th VFL/AFL game.[1]

Retirement

On 21 June 2006, Williams announced he would be retiring at the end of the 2006 premiership season, which was his 16th at AFL level (and 6th with Sydney). Reasons cited for his retirement were the fact that his family was based in Melbourne, and that more opportunities for selection to younger players such as Tim Schmidt and Paul Bevan was important for the club.

On 11 July 2006, coach Paul Roos reported at a press conference that Williams was a chance to be rested for the forthcoming game against West Coast. Hours later, Williams announced his retirement, effective immediately due to surgery required on a broken collarbone, not seeing out his initial promise to retire at the end of the season.

Coaching career

In 2007, Williams took up an assistant coaching role at the Melbourne Football Club, serving there for two years. In 2009, he moved into an assistant coaching role at the Western Bulldogs, and served there for three years. While at the Bulldogs, Williams served three matches as caretaker senior coach after Rodney Eade left the club before the end of the 2011 season.[2] Williams' first match as caretaker Bulldogs coach resulted in a 60-point win over bottom-of-the-ladder Port Adelaide.[3] Williams shifted to a midfield assistant coaching role at the Carlton Football Club in 2012 on a two-year contract,[4] but was sacked after one unsuccessful season.[5]

Statistics

Playing statistics
[6]
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
1991 Collingwood 3719192120710431151471.01.110.95.516.42.72.5
1992 Collingwood 101311101296319250220.80.89.94.814.83.81.7
1993 Collingwood 1020161619812131961540.80.89.96.116.03.12.7
1994 Collingwood 101831211698525456471.71.29.44.714.13.12.6
1995 Collingwood 1022302230610741388561.41.013.94.918.84.02.5
1996 Collingwood 1021382529510540087321.81.214.05.019.04.11.5
1997 Collingwood 1022282333216349599461.31.015.17.422.54.52.1
1998 Collingwood 10169112199531461380.60.713.75.919.63.82.4
1999 Collingwood 10171492069830446170.80.512.15.817.92.71.0
2000 Collingwood 1021271725311837188701.30.812.05.617.74.23.3
2001 Sydney 1023252828214342592621.11.212.36.218.54.02.7
2002 Sydney 1019211827314641952681.10.914.47.722.12.73.6
2003 Sydney 102320926315441766720.90.411.46.718.12.93.1
2004 Sydney 10219822915638559440.40.410.97.418.32.82.1
2005 Sydney 10195419412131551440.30.210.26.416.62.72.3
2006 Sydney 1012441086717552240.30.39.05.614.64.32.0
Career 306 307 246 3663 1846 5509 1059 743 1.0 0.8 12.0 6.0 18.0 3.5 2.4

Coaching statistics
[7]
Legend
 W  Wins  L  Losses  D  Draws  W%  Winning percentage  LP  Ladder position  LT  League teams
Season Team Games W L D W % LP LT
2011 Western Bulldogs 321066.7%1018
Career totals 3 2 1 0 66.7%

Honours and achievements
Brownlow Medal votes
Season Votes
1991 3
1992 2
1993 4
1994 1
1995 6
1996 6
1997 10
1998 6
1999 2
2000 9
2001 3
2002 16
2003 8
2004 9
2005 4
2006 0
Total 89

Team

Individual

References
  1. "On This Day: Paul Roos' 300th AFL game". Sydney Swans Media. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  2. Kogoy, Peter (18 August 2011). "Paul Williams take reins after Rodney Eade walks". The Australian. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  3. Porter, Ashley (22 August 2011). "It's Dogs before me: Williams". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  4. Windley, Matt (4 October 2011). "Bulldogs caretaker coach Paul Williams joins Carlton as assistant". Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  5. Denham, Greg (8 September 2012). "Blues clear the decks for Malthouse". The Australian. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  6. Paul Williams' player profile at AFL Tables
  7. Paul Williams' coaching profile at AFL Tables
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