Paul Williams
2001-2006
117 games
84 goals
Premiership Player 2005
Best and Fairest 2001, 2002
All-Australian 2003

Hailing from the proud Tasmanian football of North Hobart, Paul Williams was taken by Collingwood as pick 70 in the 1989 national draft at age 16. He remained in Hobart playing senior football for a year before moving to Melbourne. After playing 189 games with the Magpies, he felt an urge to look elsewhere. However, he only decided to act when a senior club official cancelled a meeting to discuss his future due to the apparent urgency of a round of golf.

“I knew Rodney Eade from playing with The Allies in state footy, and he was keen to get me up to Sydney,” Williams said. “Being from Collingwood, I thought it'd be best to leave Melbourne if I was going to go anywhere.”

“I also knew Daryn Cresswell well. I knew Paul Kelly and Andrew Dunkley, who I played against in Tasmania. I ended up going out for lunch with those guys and their wives. It just felt like a good fit, and history suggests it was a really good decision to join the Swans.”

Renowned for his breakneck speed and ability to kick long-range goals while running at full pace, Williams injected the mature Swans team with a burst of attacking flair. Supporting that offensive weaponry was a level of professionalism and dedication to training that was just as impressive.

In his biography, Rocket, Eade highlighted his desire to tempt Williams north. “I was pretty keen to get him to Sydney and he won a couple of best and fairests. He was as good as I have seen to do a 180-degree turn on the ball, good skills, very fit and super committed and very professional.”

Williams enjoyed the anonymity of Sydney and found life in the Harbour City a refreshing change after being a Collingwood footballer in Melbourne. He believed the lifestyle allowed experienced recruits to sharpen their focus on training and preparation without distraction — recovery sessions at some of the world's most iconic beaches, a bonus.

In his first season at Sydney in 2001, Williams displayed consistency and class in winning the Swans’ best and fairest. While they qualified for the finals for the fifth time in six years, some predicted a decline on the horizon after the elimination final loss to Hawthorn. 2002 proved to be one of the most tumultuous years for the Swans in Sydney.

Midway through his seventh season in charge, Eade departed. Paul Roos took over as caretaker for the remainder of the season, and Williams clearly recalls that pivotal time. “Rocket is quite brilliant in how he sees the game and is the best tactician I’ve been coached by. Roosy came in with a fresh approach that focused on managing each player individually, and we gained great success from that.”

Remarkably, Williams won his second best and fairest in his second season at the club, also polling 16 votes in the Brownlow Medal. The popular Roos won his players' admiration, and a final-round victory in which the group chanted his name before heading down the tunnel is preserved in the public consciousness.

One of Roos’ first points of action, a pre-season Coffs Harbour training camp, saw the players introduced to leadership consultant Ray McLean and his company, Leading Teams. Collectively, they explored the ‘Bloods culture’ and what it meant to always be honest and accountable.

Now one of the elder statesmen, Williams had earned the respect of his peers and became one of ten players voted into the initial Bloods’ leadership group, using his voice to influence the team. They’d agreed on expectations and behaviours; now was the time to act.

In his book Any Given Team, McLean said, “I recall Paul Williams, one of the most experienced players in the team, summarising the whole concept briefly in a team meeting after a loss: ‘Boys, we’re a blue-collar outfit. Everyone turns up ready for work, or we don't win.’”

“The appointment of Stuey Maxfield as captain was a pivotal moment,” Williams recalled. “Together with Roosy, they set the direction, and it was an amazing turnaround. The culture we created, where everyone felt comfortable saying anything to one another, was unique at the time. It was pretty confronting at the start, but we got to a point where it just happened organically, even out on the ground, and when we got to that stage, it was really powerful.”

Williams continued his exceptional form, earning selection on the wing in the 2003 All-Australian team. It was also a year of incredible growth within the Swans. The younger core thrived under Roos’s player-driven model, encapsulated by 23-year-old Adam Goodes claiming his first Brownlow Medal. Sydney won preliminary final hosting rights before losing to eventual triple-premier Brisbane.

That season cultivated a belief in their system’s philosophical and structural elements, but the disappointment of missing a Grand Final berth drove them harder to succeed. A semi-final exit in 2004 only fueled the fire, and although the 2005 season didn’t start as planned, the Swans believed they were one of the best teams in it.

Despite experiencing some inevitable hiccups, their superb team-first football propelled the Swans to another finals series. A nail-biting loss to West Coast in Perth was followed by a nail-biting win against Geelong at a heaving SCG. As they pulled away from St Kilda in the final quarter of the preliminary final, thoughts drifted towards a Grand Final appearance and a return bout with the West Coast Eagles.

The Swans and the Eagles had built an intense rivalry based on respect. As a critical component in Sydney’s midfield, Williams enjoyed those battles and his first Grand Final at any level of football would be his 294th AFL appearance. He recalls a Paul Roos pre-match address essentially guaranteeing a win if they adhered to the game plan as instilling great self-belief and confidence within the team.

“The highlight of the Grand Final was the siren sounding after Leo took his catch,” Williams recalled, “If you could bottle that feeling, you'd be a very wealthy man. We were one of the first teams to go out on the MCG together afterwards and sit around the centre circle, sharing a beer and talking about how good it all was.”

“It was just the players, which was pretty significant, but we stayed out there too long, and we got locked inside the MCG. We had to get someone to come and open the gates so we could get to the function, which we were late for anyway.”

Breaking the 72-year premiership drought brought the team instant notoriety among Swans supporters and created a lasting bond that Williams and his teammates continue to enjoy. In 2006, Williams retired after 306 AFL games, and Paul Roos said, “He’s been a great clubman as well as a great player.”

Michael O’Loughlin rated his ten greatest teammates in his biography, with Williams on that list. O’Loughlin said, “Apart from being a good mark for his size, he also was the best kick on the run I have seen. Willo won a lot of ball for us and almost always used it to perfection, either passing to a teammate or shooting for goal.”

“He was the most technically correct player in all my years with the Swans, and I doubt if we could have won the flag without him. He had a great influence around the club as he was a true professional who worked extremely hard at developing his skills and maintaining fitness.”