Diesel Left In The Dust

THE SUNDAY AGE

Saturday May 25, 1996

Jake Niall

Greg Williams, the game's most decorated current player, is struggling for form. Jake Niall traces the gradual decline of the Carlton champion.

FOR much of the 1990s, Greg Williams has been too old, too slow, too fat and too bloody good. `The Diesel' is written off more often than loans to a Perth entrepreneur and, with that unique combination of hand-eye co-ordination, vision and old-fashioned mongrel, he usually rebounds with a series of blinders.

In the past month, Williams has struggled like never before.

But when you raise his slump with supporters at Carlton and even an old foe like Tony Shaw, they are quick to warn: Don't write the man off. He's a champion. ``Never underestimate the Diesel," said the Collingwood coach, with a respect borne of broken noses and possessions conceded. ``The time you do, he'll kill you."

True, it would be brave to write the football obituary. Williams, after all, has been short and slow since game one and that hasn't stopped him from becoming the game's most decorated current player. No one else, even if they're considered better players, can boast of two Brownlows and a Norm Smith Medal in a premiership side.

But while he remains on his day capable of embarrassing his critics - and, as a player who commands respect rather than love, there are many - the numbers are revealing.

WILLIAMS' autobiography, `Diesel', is littered with statistics that tell, with frank immodesty, the story of his greatness.

In 1995-96, the stats tell a different tale; that while Williams can pull the occasional big game out of the box, they are less frequent than two seasons ago and the days when the Sherrin followed him around like an adoring puppy are all but gone.

Seasons 1993 and 1994 were Williams' best at Carlton, from an individual point of view. In both home-and-away seasons, he averaged about 29 possessions per game (29.1 in 1994, when he won the Brownlow and 28.95 in 1993). In 1994, he also won the Blues best and fairest award.

He played almost solely as a centreman then. Last year, after Carlton's disastrous 1994 finals series, when Diesel's lack of pace and defensive game were exploited, the Blues devised a plan that would extend his career and, more importantly, improve the team.

Williams was asked to play as a part-time forward. Closer to goal, his inability to chase quick opponents would be minimised and his stellar disposal (and goal sense) would be more lethal than ever. From a team point of view, the experiment was a success, it enabled Fraser Brown and Brett Ratten to develop and Williams contributed 29 goals from 17 games.

Yet, compared to his superb 1994, last year was a modest one. Williams had, at best, three games in which he was definitely in Carlton's best three - round 12 against Geelong, round 20 against North Melbourne and, of course, the grand final.

He finished 14th in the best and fairest and polled six Brownlow votes. His Norm Smith Medal may have camouflaged a gradual, rather than steep, decline.

Last year, the average number of possessions (home and away) dropped from 29 to under 22 (respectable by anyone else's standards). This year, in the same role, he is averaging only 17 possessions and has booted only eight goals in seven appearances - seven goals considering one was kicked by West Coast's Tony Evans. He has been in the Blues' top three only once - round two versus Essendon.

Most troubling, though, is the number of poor games and the effectiveness of his opponents. Williams has been comprehensively beaten by three players - Craig Turley, Jose Romero and Grant Tanner, none of whom are stars, but each had more than 20 possessions. Diesel's tallies in those games, were, respectively 13, seven and eight.

In the Geelong game, the Cats' statistician credited Williams with only three effective disposals - an indication he was more hurried than usual on the rare occasions he won the ball.

Mick McGuane narrowly won their customary battle in round one and Williams was ineffective in the Blues' loss to Fremantle.

In years past, taggers were willing to judge their game by how many kicks and handballs Williams had. These days, mindful of his inability to chase and man up, coaches expect a Williams assignment to involve plentiful possessions and, if his opponent can run, some yardage.

``It's not just guys stopping him, it's guys running off him," said Tanner, his most recent opponent. ``That's his problem. If you run off, he can't go with you."

If the numbers confirm the decline, but not fall of Greg Williams, where is the root of the decay? Carlton insists there is no hidden injury. He has a chronic knee problem, which as Blues football manager Col Kinnear explained, Williams has carried for several years. The easiest excuse doesn't wash.

Shaw, who respects Williams as much as anyone, suggested that the absence of Stephen Kernahan and/or Earl Spalding for much of this year has hurt the Diesel. Shaw's reasoning was that, in his new role as forward, Williams relied on a tall and dependable key forward for crumbs. ``You rely on (roving to) players who get a high percentage of the ball.

" PERHAPS the best witnesses are his opponents, especially recent conquerors. Tanner, Turley and Romero each had their own slant on Williams' slump. ``As far as I'm conerned, if you've got somebody who can put up with his shit and stick with hin, I don't see why you can't stop him," said Tanner, who spent some time on Diesel in the grand final.

Tanner says in their recent battle, he set out to drag Williams away from goal and to test his stamina, to ``get him out of goal range and hopefully drag him with you." Tanner said that in today's football, the running requirements made it harder for older players such as Williams.

``The aerobic capacity of guys is going up. Older guys are finding it harder." Turley, who suffered the indignity of a Diesel BOG on a day when was reported for striking the champ in 1994, said loss of hunger may be a factor.

``Maybe he feels he's done everything he's set out to do in his career. There's not many players who've won two Brownlows and a Norm Smith in a premiership side." Turley added: ``Maybe his body's not letting him do the work during the week. As you get a little older, it's accepted that the older players do less during the week."

Turley's most revealing comment was his observation of the major difference between the 1994 Diesel (who gave him a bath) and the 1996 Diesel (who received one): ``I noticed that he wasn't as aggressive. I definitely noticed that. If you've been at it for 10 or 12 years, maybe he's feeling the pinch a little bit."

Footscray's Romero, who restricted Williams to just one free kick and seven handballs, had only one significant observation: ``He didn't seem to run as much as he did in the past."

Whatever the causes, it is arguable that Diesel's biggest problem is the one that afflicts all champions in their twilight years - expectation. ``He's set such a high standard for himself, " said Col Kinnear. ``Any time he doesn't reach that standard.

. . people are going to look at him."

     The touch factor

     1993:
     Average kicks: 12.85
     Average handballs: 16.1

     1994:
     Average kicks: 12.8
     Average handballs: 16.3

     1995:
     Average kicks: 10.9
     Average handballs: 11

     1996:
     Average kicks: 9
     Average handballs: 8.28

© 1996 THE SUNDAY AGE

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