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Tom Williams Retires

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His interview early in the year you could sense that he was keen to reach 100 games. It would have been a quality milestone for him to reach so im sure it would have hurt to fall short. I remember playing cricket one day and Tommy along with Farren Ray and Griff played and Tom was happy to have a chat and just a great guy all round. Infact all 3 boys were.
 
I just don't know how he kept persevering for so long. Many lesser men would have given up long ago.

Damn that body of yours.

Well played Tom.
 
There have been many outstanding people walk through the doors of our grand old footy club.. Some have gone on to become Champions and heroes on the field, Legends of their time and others fell at the first hurdle. Many battled manfully against the odds whilst others swayed hypnotically with ball in hand, some were tough as nails and others not so, some were giants and some not so fortunate..

Today we say good bye to one who never reached the playing heights we all hoped he would, himself included.. Somebody who was cut down by injury and challenged beyond belief time after time after time yet still found a way to smile and care and give of himself to his team mates, his club and it's supporters.

Anyone who was lucky enough to spend some time with Big Tom as I have been would know that you don't have to be Champion footballer to be a Champion bloke...

Good Luck Tommy
 
Nice article from Bobby. It's a sad day for the boys that play with Tommy and for Tommy of course, but the good thing is that after all it's just footy it's just a game, Tom is a young man with a lot more of his life to come and he's played 85 games more than most people. He's been very unlucky and very lucky all at the same time.
 

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Anyone have the photo of him handshaking after his goal?
 
I admire the bloke's persistence and resolve to be able to keep coming back setback after setback, he has basically spent the last 10 years in rehab.

But let's be honest, this is a decision that is long overdue. The club needed to make the hard call a lot earlier, I can't imagine these injuries having anything but a seriously adverse affect on the bloke's mental well-being over the journey and I'd be worried about what kind of complications his body will present when he reaches middle-age. 28 years of age and his body is crippled ffs. Personally, I don't believe 85 games and a few professional playing contracts to be worth it. You can only plod around doing nothing for so long before it starts to get dull and mundane. I'd be surprised if he didn't show signs of serious depression.

I also think these injuries are the best and worst thing that ever happened to Tommy's career. Worst because they killed it. Best because I think his lack of any sort of consistent playing time has allowed many of us to romanticise the guy's ability. Yeah, he had his good moments but, to be honest, I don't think he really showed anything to really suggest he was ever going to be anything more than a decent, consistent 22 player. Instead, he leaves a legacy built around 'what could have been' and his 'undeniable potential' as a top 10 draft pick; 'The only guy to be able to match it with Buddy at his best' (what a joke) etc etc. I can only imagine how that legacy would have been torn to shreds by our supporters if he was ever fit enough to put 2 poor games together.

Still, all the best to him. I really hope his post-footy career is much more successful than his playing one.
 
Very sad to hear. Was a good player when he could get on the park, and must've really loved playing for the club if he was willing to go through all those hours of rehab to play for it again.

Good luck to him!
 
Pretty good player most of the time, edging towards the upper echelons in terms of ability, but let down by a fragile physique.

Thanks you for your service to the club, Tom, and all the best for life after footy. Rough luck with all the injuries, I hope there are no long term effects that prevent you enjoying life to the full.
 
total football said:
I also think these injuries are the best and worst thing that ever happened to Tommy's career. Worst because they killed it. Best because I think his lack of any sort of consistent playing time has allowed many of us to romanticise the guy's ability. Yeah, he had his good moments but, to be honest, I don't think he really showed anything to really suggest he was ever going to be anything more than a decent, consistent 22 player. Instead, he leaves a legacy built around 'what could have been' and his 'undeniable potential' as a top 10 draft pick; 'The only guy to be able to match it with Buddy at his best' (what a joke) etc etc. I can only imagine how that legacy would have been torn to shreds by our supporters if he was ever fit enough to put 2 poor games together.

Still, all the best to him. I really hope his post-footy career is much more successful than his playing one.
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Whilst those are very valid points, firstly I don't think you're valuing firstly the success he had on Buddy (he was nowhere as good as him obviously, he just matched him for athleticism perfectly) and also the importance to the structure that he had in 2010. The Harbrow-Lake-Morris, Gilbee-Williams-Hargrave back 6 will be probably the best bulldogs back 6 for some time.

But the reason we mainly romanticise him was because the raw ability that we saw in him on draft day 2004, which saw us take him with pick 4, not the actual ability he showed on the AFL field. He was wiped out for two years before he could even play a game, and when we say "what could have been", we're not just talking about if he'd stayed injury-free since 2010, we're talking about if he could have stayed injury free since 2004.
 
Old Man Time catches up with all of us, some sooner than others. Tom was one of the unlucky ones whose career was far too short. He is a great example of perseverance and should rightly be remembered as a loyal Bulldog who gave his all.
 

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immortalmike said:
Good luck Tommy with life after football and for Pete's sake man, look after yourself.
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Good point - needs a job as a bubble wrap salesman or something.....
 
Tom gave as much as he could to football. Pity football couldn't return the favour. I'm sure he will take the more important aspects of football life away with him such as mate-ship and belonging. Never met the bloke but from peoples reports it sounds like he contributed more to the playing group off the field than many, if not all others on the list. I'm glad at least he retired on his own terms, being 100% his decision, rather than being tapped on the shoulder at the end of the year.

At times it was like watching a boxer get knocked down on the canvas time and time again, as he stumbled to regain his feet (and touch in each comeback game) he'd get knocked back down again. Somethings just weren't meant to be. Good luck in retirement Tom.
 
He always showed he had a lot of talent, and the fact that he stuck through everything and didn't complain once and continually remained upbeat and fought his way back to AFL level just shows the kind of person he is. Everything I've heard about him off the field just shows he's an amazing person that has time for everyone and he deserved to have a long AFL career but unfortunately injuries haven't allowed him to do that. Anyone who has had this run apart from Williams would have given it away a long time ago, but it shows his character to fight back to the elite level. Best of luck to him with whatever he decides to do from now.
 
threenewpadlocks said:
Whilst those are very valid points, firstly I don't think you're valuing firstly the success he had on Buddy (he was nowhere as good as him obviously, he just matched him for athleticism perfectly) and also the importance to the structure that he had in 2010. The Harbrow-Lake-Morris, Gilbee-Williams-Hargrave back 6 will be probably the best bulldogs back 6 for some time.

But the reason we mainly romanticise him was because the raw ability that we saw in him on draft day 2004, which saw us take him with pick 4, not the actual ability he showed on the AFL field. He was wiped out for two years before he could even play a game, and when we say "what could have been", we're not just talking about if he'd stayed injury-free since 2010, we're talking about if he could have stayed injury free since 2004.
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This is exactly my point. He played how many games on Buddy to validate this claim of success? Brennan Stack kicked 4 in his second game ffs.

Secondly, this has nothing to do with structure. Nothing in my post referred to it and I'm not going to refer to it in any other way than by saying yes, he could have been a consistent player in our backline.

Raw ability that you witnessed or raw ability that you were told about or simply made to believe? In 2004 there was nowhere near the coverage given to current day potential draftees, let alone Queenslanders. I'd be very surprised if you saw a single game of his as an u18, let alone two. This is exactly what romanticising is.. this belief in his 'raw ability' that was actually never physically witnessed; just a narrative passed down by recruiters.
 

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total football said:
This is exactly my point. He played how many games on Buddy to validate this claim of success? Brennan Stack kicked 4 in his second game ffs.

Secondly, this has nothing to do with structure. Nothing in my post referred to it and I'm not going to refer to it in any other way than by saying yes, he could have been a consistent player in our backline.

Raw ability that you witnessed or raw ability that you were told about or simply made to believe? In 2004 there was nowhere near the coverage given to current day potential draftees, let alone Queenslanders. I'd be very surprised if you saw a single game of his as an u18, let alone two. This is exactly what romanticising is.. this belief in his 'raw ability' that was actually never physically witnessed; just a narrative passed down by recruiters.
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Frankly, who cares? If people want to remember Tom as a good player, let them do so. I certainly believe he was. What's the point of trying to talk him down when he's retiring?
 
Igloo said:
Frankly, who cares? If people want to remember Tom as a good player, let them do so. I certainly believe he was. What's the point of trying to talk him down when he's retiring?
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Read my post and you'll see that it isn't the point. The point was that the injuries have been good for his career/legacy.
 
total football said:
This is exactly my point. He played how many games on Buddy to validate this claim of success? Brennan Stack kicked 4 in his second game ffs.

Secondly, this has nothing to do with structure. Nothing in my post referred to it and I'm not going to refer to it in any other way than by saying yes, he could have been a consistent player in our backline.

Raw ability that you witnessed or raw ability that you were told about or simply made to believe? In 2004 there was nowhere near the coverage given to current day potential draftees, let alone Queenslanders. I'd be very surprised if you saw a single game of his as an u18, let alone two. This is exactly what romanticising is.. this belief in his 'raw ability' that was actually never physically witnessed; just a narrative passed down by recruiters.
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I hope your not asked to give my eulogy
 
When Tom wasn't injured he displayed plenty of good form as an AFL player. Terrific clubman and tireless trainer, we didn't get what we wanted out of him but he'd be far more disappointed about that than we all are. If his body hadn't let him down, he'd have made a pretty handy, consistent KPP.

Really wanted him to make it to 100, it was a milestone he clearly wanted to hit, but that's life. He'll do well wherever he goes.
 
total football said:
Read my post and you'll see that it isn't the point. The point was that the injuries have been good for his career/legacy.
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You might be able to mount an argument that they were good for his legacy if you believe that his playing ability was over stated but saying they have been good for his career is ridiculous. If it wasn't for injuries he'd probably be on 150 games by now and would have at least a couple of decent years left in him
 

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