Williams knows footy fate in own hands
JACK Williams has heard the lofty talk at St Mary’s about what he could become.
Williams, fresh from finishing his second season at Territory Thunder, is armed with role models everywhere he looks at the Saints.
Coach Rick Nolan also has a big rap for the hardworking 22-year-old. But Williams said after his two-goal, best-onground performance yesterday against the Tiwi Bombers that one factor will determine where he goes in the sport.
“(Nolan) tries and puts you on the right track, but at the end of the day it’s all up to yourself how hard you want to work,” Williams said.
“It’s always good to push down forward and it just comes down to your workrate. I want to keep getting better every week. You have to make sure you look after your body – that is a big thing.”
Williams is one of the rare Thunder footballers who has played in each of the first four rounds of the NTFL season.
He racked up double-digit NEAFL games for the second straight year and has pulled on the black-and-ochre jersey 26 times overall. ST MARY’S V TIWI BOMBERS BEST
Williams was non-committal about a third Thunder campaign at this early stage.
He will play under a new coach if he does, with premiership mentor Xavier Clarke accepting a development role with AFL club Richmond.
“We’ll just see how the season goes and see how my body is at the end of it,” Williams said of Thunder.
“Obviously, we’d love to try 5.4 13.7 20.10 26.14 1.0 3.4 6.9 9.13 GOALS UMPIRES and go back-to-back (with St Mary’s) – that’s why everyone plays the game.
“It was a great team effort from the boys (today) in hard conditions ... there’s just a great culture at the club.”
There will be no lack of motivation for the Saints next week, with club great Iggy Vallejo set to break Michael Athanasiou’s league record of 328 games against Waratah.