Zachery Williams (born 20 September 1994) is a professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er playing for the Carlton Football Club in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). A utility, 1.85 metres tall and weighing 84 kilograms, Williams also plays as a defender and mid-fielder. Williams previously represented the Greater Western Sydney Football Club, playing 113 games over eight seasons from 2013 to 2020. He was recruited by Greater Western Sydney as the 54th pick in the 2012 AFL Rookie Draft, making his debut in round five of the 2013 AFL season. Williams earned a nomination for the

2013 AFL Rising Star The NAB AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 seas ...

award and has played the 14th most games for Greater Western Sydney Club. At the end of the 2020 season, Williams signed with as a restricted free agent.

Early life and family

Williams was born and raised in Narrandera, New South Wales to Steven Williams and Joy O'Hara. Williams is of Aboriginal Australian ( Wiradjuri) descent on his father's side and of Irish descent on his mother's side. His father died when he was six years old, and his mother was left to raise him as well as his older sister Samantha. His father remains a profound influence on Williams and his Indigenous heritage. Williams attended Narrandera High School and grew up playing an array of sports, including basketball, rugby league, and AFL. Williams' father grew up playing rugby league, but chose to enrol Williams in Auskick as soon as he was old enough. His father believed he was more suited for the game. For financial reasons, William's mother asked him to pick just one sport at age 15. Williams chose AFL over basketball and rugby league, despite preferring basketball at the time, as he believed he was not tall enough to play professionally. His role models were fellow AFL players Adam Goodes and Michael O'Loughlin.

Junior career

Growing up, Williams' main focus became

Australian Rules Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. He played junior football for the Narrandera Eagles in the Riverina Football Netball League. At the age of 15, Williams joined Greater Western Sydney's academy program. The club's academy program allowed Williams to develop as a footballer and experience what professional football would be like. At age 17, Williams represented NSW in the AFL U18's Championship. Williams played in the 2012 Riverina Football League grand final, and was recognised as the best afield. Williams was unsuccessful in the 2012 National draft selection. Later, he was chosen by Greater Western Sydney Giants in the 2012 Rookie Draft as pick 55.

AFL career

2013 season

In April 2013, Williams was promoted from the rookie list to the senior list. He became the first academy graduate to join GWS's list. In round five of the 2013 AFL season, Williams made his debut at age 18, representing Greater Western Sydney Giants against the

Gold Coast Suns The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara. The club has been playing in the AFL since th ...

at Manuka Oval. Williams went on to play 11 games that season, and earned the round 19 nomination for the

award.

2014 season

Prior to the start of the 2014 season, Williams changed from number 51

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

to number 29, following the departure of

Dom Tyson Dom Tyson (born 8 June 1993) is a former professional Australian rules footballer playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, tall and weighing , Tyson is capable of contributing as both an inside and outside midfielder. ...

2015 season

On 30 May 2015, the Greater Western Sydney Giants wore specially designed Indigenous themed guernseys in their game against the Western Bulldogs to commemorate the 2015 Indigenous Round. Williams was one of six Indigenous players on the team. In the second half of the 2015 season, Williams shifted positions and played as an attacking Backman.

2016 season

Williams represented the 22 under 22 team in the 2016 season, playing as a back. He received the unofficial title of Most Underrated player in 2016, given by champion data. He was seventh in line for the best and fairest award for Greater Western Sydney Giants in 2016. Williams received his first two Brownlow Medal votes in round two against Gold Coast Suns. This game was Williams' best performance of the season with disposals (31), total kicks (20) and inside 50s (9). Williams had a career high season in 2016, averaging 22 possessions per game.

2017 season

On 24 May 2017, it was announced that Williams would wear number 67 on his guernsey rather than his usual 29, for the round 10

Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...

game against

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

. This was to commemorate the

1967 referendum The 1967 Australian referendum occurred on 27 May 1967 under the Holt Government. It contained three topics asked about in two questions, regarding the passage of two bills to alter the Australian Constitution. The first question (''Constitution ...

(which allowed Indigenous Australians to be counted with the general population in the national census). Earlier in the year, Williams signed a contract extension with Greater Western Sydney Giants, and was to represent them until the contract finishes at the end of the 2020 season. Several Greater Western Sydney players suffered injuries in the 2017 season. A reshuffling of positions after injuries placed Williams in as a midfielder. He achieved 28 possessions and six clearances. Following injuries of Steve Johnson and Devon Smith, Williams then played as a forward and responded with three goals against Essendon in round 11. Towards the end of the season Williams resumed his usual position as a defender, and dominated in round 21 against Western Bulldogs with disposables (27) and rebounds (50).

2018 season

Williams was unable to play the majority of the 2018 season after rupturing his Achilles tendon in a training session, which required surgery. Williams returned to the season in the 2018 elimination-final against

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

, with disposables (23) and kicks (20).

2019 season

Williams played 21 games in the 2019 season, only missing two due to a hamstring issue. His 100th game the 2019 season semi final against Brisbane Lions. Williams 2019 preliminary final performance was one of the great individual games of the decade He averaged a career high 24 disposals in the season and was fifth in line for the best and fairest award for Greater Western Sydney Giants. Williams played in Greater Western Sydney Club's first ever grand final against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, with disposals (21), highballs (10) and uncontested possessions (13).

2020 season

At the end of the 2020 season, Williams was at the end of a three-year contract with Greater Western Sydney Giants. Williams declined a multi-year extension contract from Greater Western Sydney club. After playing for eight seasons with Greater Western Sydney Club, Williams was classified a restricted free agent, which meant Greater Western Sydney club had the authority to match contract offers from rival clubs. On 30 September 2020, Williams accepted a six-year contract, valued at $900,000 a season from Carlton Football Club, after Greater Western Sydney Giants chose to not match the bid. Williams plans on playing as a midfielder in his career with Carlton, after showing great potential in the 2019 preliminary final against Collingwood.

2021 season

On 20 January, Williams was given his new guernsey number at Carlton, the no.6, previously worn by Kade Simpson. Williams missed the Round 1 opener against Richmond after a bump in a preseason match landed him a one match ban for rough conduct.

Statistics

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2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , , , 29 , 8 , , 2 , , 3 , , 63 , , 52 , , 115 , , 28 , , 21 , , 0.25 , , 0.4 , , 7.9 , , 6.5 , , 14.4 , , 3.5 , , 2.6 , , 0 , - , scope=row ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , , , 29 , 12 , , 5 , , 3 , , 104 , , 83 , , 187 , , 51 , , 31 , , 0.42 , , 0.3 , , 8.7 , , 6.9 , , 15.6 , , 4.3 , , 2.3 , , 0 , - , scope=row ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , , , 29 , 22 , , 4 , , 4 , , 289 , , 167 , , 456 , , 96 , , 67 , , 0.18 , , 0.2 , , 13.1 , , 7.6 , , 20.7 , , 4.4 , , 3.1 , , 2 , - , scope=row ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

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2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, , , 29 , 11 , , 2 , , 2 , , 136 , , 50 , , 186 , , 38 , , 25 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 12.4 , , 4.6 , , 16.9 , , 3.5 , , 2.3 , , 1 , - , scope=row ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, , 6 , , 9 , , 0 , , 0 , , 136 , , 40 , , 176 , , 37 , , 11 , , 0 , , 0 , , 15.1 , , 4.4 , , 19.6 , , 4.1 , , 1.2 , , 1 , - , - class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 , Career ! 136 !! 32 !! 28 !! 1751 !! 902 !! 2653 !! 542 !! 385 !! 0.2 !! 0.2 !! 12.9 !! 6.6 !! 19.5 !! 4.0 !! 2.8 !! 15

Honours and achievements

Individual * AFL Rising Star nominee:

* Indigenous All-Stars team: 2013 * 22under22 team: 2016

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Zac 1994 births Living people Greater Western Sydney Giants players Australian rules footballers from New South Wales People from the Riverina Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Australian people of Irish descent Carlton Football Club players AFL Rising Star winners