Paul Williams (Australian rules footballer)

Paul Williams
Personal information
Full name	Paul Williams
Date of birth	(1973-04-03) 3 April 1973 (age 51)
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
AFL Premiership player: (2005) 2× Bob Skilton Medal: (2001, 2002) All-Australian team: (2003) Larke Medal: (1990) Harry Collier Trophy 1991 Wrecker Award 1991 Tasmanian Team of the Century
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Paul Williams (born 3 April 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). 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.

Playing career

Collingwood Football Club

Williams began his AFL career with Collingwood Football Club, 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). ^{[1] [2]}

Sydney Swans

However, at the end of the 2000 season, he was traded to Sydney Swans 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. ^[3]

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. ^[4]

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. ^[5]

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. ^[6]

On 11 July 2006, senior coach of Sydney Swans 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. ^[7]

Coaching career

Melbourne Football Club

In 2007, Williams took up an assistant coaching role at the Melbourne Football Club, serving there for two years.

Western Bulldogs

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. ^{[8] [9]} Williams' first match as caretaker senior coach of Bulldogs resulted in a 60-point win over bottom-of-the-ladder Port Adelaide. ^[10] During this period, he coached his 2005 Sydney premiership teammate Barry Hall, who retired at season's end. ^[11] Williams was however not retained as the Bulldogs senior coach at the conclusion of the 2011 season and was replaced by Brendan McCartney as the senior coach of the Western Bulldogs Football Club.

Carlton Football Club

Williams shifted to a midfield assistant coaching role at the Carlton Football Club in 2012 on a two-year contract, ^[12] but was sacked after one unsuccessful season. ^[13]

Post-coaching career

Williams now sits on the AFL Tribunal jury, adjudicating on high-profile cases that arise during the regular season. ^[14]

Statistics

Playing statistics

^[15]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
1991	Collingwood	37	19	19	21	207	104	311	51	47	1.0	1.1	10.9	5.5	16.4	2.7	2.5
1992	Collingwood	10	13	11	10	129	63	192	50	22	0.8	0.8	9.9	4.8	14.8	3.8	1.7
1993	Collingwood	10	20	16	16	198	121	319	61	54	0.8	0.8	9.9	6.1	16.0	3.1	2.7
1994	Collingwood	10	18	31	21	169	85	254	56	47	1.7	1.2	9.4	4.7	14.1	3.1	2.6
1995	Collingwood	10	22	30	22	306	107	413	88	56	1.4	1.0	13.9	4.9	18.8	4.0	2.5
1996	Collingwood	10	21	38	25	295	105	400	87	32	1.8	1.2	14.0	5.0	19.0	4.1	1.5
1997	Collingwood	10	22	28	23	332	163	495	99	46	1.3	1.0	15.1	7.4	22.5	4.5	2.1
1998	Collingwood	10	16	9	11	219	95	314	61	38	0.6	0.7	13.7	5.9	19.6	3.8	2.4
1999	Collingwood	10	17	14	9	206	98	304	46	17	0.8	0.5	12.1	5.8	17.9	2.7	1.0
2000	Collingwood	10	21	27	17	253	118	371	88	70	1.3	0.8	12.0	5.6	17.7	4.2	3.3
2001	Sydney	10	23	25	28	282	143	425	92	62	1.1	1.2	12.3	6.2	18.5	4.0	2.7
2002	Sydney	10	19	21	18	273	146	419	52	68	1.1	0.9	14.4	7.7	22.1	2.7	3.6
2003	Sydney	10	23	20	9	263	154	417	66	72	0.9	0.4	11.4	6.7	18.1	2.9	3.1
2004	Sydney	10	21	9	8	229	156	385	59	44	0.4	0.4	10.9	7.4	18.3	2.8	2.1
2005	Sydney	10	19	5	4	194	121	315	51	44	0.3	0.2	10.2	6.4	16.6	2.7	2.3
2006	Sydney	10	12	4	4	108	67	175	52	24	0.3	0.3	9.0	5.6	14.6	4.3	2.0
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

^[16]

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	3	2	1	0	66.7%	10	18
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

• AFL Premiership (Sydney): 2005

Individual

• Bob Skilton Medal (Sydney Swans/South Melbourne F.C. Best & Fairest): 2001, 2002
• All-Australian : 2003
• Harry Collier Trophy (Collingwood FC Best First Year Player Award): 1991
• Wrecker Award (Collingwood FC Leading Desire Indicator): 1991
• Larke Medal : 1990
• Tasmanian Team of the Century - Interchange

References

1. "PAUL WILLIAMS" . Retrieved 26 March 2022.
2. "Paul Williams" . Retrieved 27 March 2022.
3. "PAUL WILLIAMS" . Retrieved 26 March 2022.
4. "PAUL WILLIAMS" . Retrieved 26 March 2022.
5. "On This Day: Paul Roos' 300th AFL game". Sydney Swans Media. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
6. "PAUL WILLIAMS" . Retrieved 26 March 2022.
7. "PAUL WILLIAMS" . Retrieved 26 March 2022.
8. Kogoy, Peter (18 August 2011). "Paul Williams take reins after Rodney Eade walks". The Australian. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
9. "Eade won't coach again in 2011". 18 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
10. Porter, Ashley (22 August 2011). "It's Dogs before me: Williams". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
11. Witham, Jennifer (3 September 2011). "Dogs proud of their Baz". Western Bulldogs. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
12. Windley, Matt (4 October 2011). "Bulldogs caretaker coach Paul Williams joins Carlton as assistant". Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
13. Denham, Greg (8 September 2012). "Blues clear the decks for Malthouse". The Australian. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
14. Phelan, Jason (7 July 2020). "Bulldog tackle ban stands at AFL tribunal". Manning River Times. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
15. Paul Williams' player profile at AFL Tables
16. Paul Williams' coaching profile at AFL Tables

External links

• Paul Williams's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Paul Williams's coaching statistics from AFL Tables
• Paul Williams at AustralianFootball.com
• "Paul Williams". Collingwood Forever.