Seventeen months into what is seemingly a “never-ending’’ football season, Rochester teenager Tegan Williams could be forgiven for enjoying her enforced stint on the sidelines.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Now playing with Casey Demons in the VFLW, the just turned 19-year-old has spent the past two weeks as a spectator after suffering a groin injury during her best game of the season.
There was nothing in her voice, however, that suggested she was looking for anything other than the chance to continue smashing into opposition rucks in her new role as a follower with the Melbourne AFLW feeder club.
Williams has played almost non-stop football since January 22 last year when she was among the Bendigo Pioneers’ best players in the NAB League GIrls opening round match against Murray Bushrangers.
She made seven successive appearances with the Pioneers before missing two weeks and ended the season with nine games, eight goals and a five-goal loss to Greater Western Victoria Rebels in the finals of the competition.
The NAB League season was followed by representative duties with Victoria Country.
She was among her team’s best in matches against Vic Metro, South Australia and Queensland between March 20 and April 22.
That form rolled into a two-match stint in May with Essendon’s VFL team through its alignment with Bendigo Pioneers, and she ended the year playing six matches alongside her sister Monique at Golden Square.
Thirteen goals for the Bendigo-based Central Victorian league club culminated in a September 9 grand final loss with a team that included a third Rochester connection, Sarah Ingram.
If you’re doing the maths, there is a gap between Williams ending her brief Essendon VFLW connection and starting with Golden Square.
That void was filled by her being invited to be a “train-on’’ partner with Melbourne’s AFLW team during its pre-season preparation for what turned out to be an AFLW premiership season.
“I trained with Melbourne through that partnership in June and July last year, before the the AFLW season started in August. A number of us played scratch matches with the girls who didn’t make it into the AFLW team,” Williams said.
She then made the decision to re-locate from Rochester, where she was living with her parents David and Sharon, to Melbourne and, with an established connection to Casey Demons, it was a natural choice to link up with the VFL club.
She continued training with Melbourne and Casey before the VFLW season started in April. The AFLW’S 2022-23 season ended on November 27.
WIlliams missed selection in the opening three weeks of this year’s VFLW season, but broke into the team as a back-up ruck and forward for the round four match against her former team Essendon.
Casey lost that match by two points, but Williams kept her position in the team until being injured during her best match of the season, the round eight win against Williamstown on May 14.
In Casey’s six-point win she played as a second fiddle ruck and had 14 disposals and 19 hit-outs.
Casey sits eighth on the ladder after nine rounds, with four wins, one game outside the top six of the 12-team competition with five rounds remaining.
The final round of the VFLW season is scheduled for July 1 and following the finls series the 2023 AFLW season is due to kick off on the first weekend of September.
That date will coincide with the men’s competition annual pre-finals bye. For the second season, all 18 clubs will field a women’s team.
WIlliams has been living in South Yarra, working as a pool lifeguard at the Victoria Police Acamedy, a role she had played in Campaspe Shire while living in Rochester, and travelling to Casey Fields in Melbourne’s south-east to train.
She had initial discussions with Melbourne recruiters at the end of her 18-year-old season, particularly around the opportunity to be taken as a father-daughter player, but acknowledged it was a tough task to win a place on the Melbourne list.
“They have an amazing group,” she said, explaining she had been drawn to the club where her father played 67 games and kicked 102 goals.
Unlike the AFL men’s father–son rule, a father needs to have played only one senior match for his club for his daughter to be eligible.
Williams’ new role as a ruck is one she is enjoying, admitting she was definitely one of the shorter rucks, but adding she was able to use her strength and running ability around the ground.
“I like the throw-ins and ball-ups were I can use my strength and then I try to work as another midfielder,” she said.
Williams is understudy to giant blonde Leah Swain, who is 15 centimetres taller than her at 195cm.
Casey Demons’ VFLW team is coached by Peter Mercoulia, who appears to enjoy the flexibility of Williams as a forward or ruck option.
WIlliams played under-18 football for Eaglehawk, where her performances immediately came under the notice of Pioneers selectors.
She started playing with Rochester at under-12 level in 2015 and is a regular back at Moon Oval when time permits, which hasn’t been a lot in recent months.
“I go back to Rochy when I can, I was at the Mansfield game on the weekend,” she said.
Williams is friends with star Rochester netballers Teal Hocking, Charlie Roulston and Ava Cottam, along with several of the other netballers and footballers.
The Williams name looks set to continue as a Thursday night training topic for some time to come if the trajectory of the 19-year-old’s career continues at Casey Demons.
Contributor