Jason Williams may be the greatest teammate to have played rugby league – and that’s a big claim.
In a sport where everyone’s ‘doin it for the boys’, Williams could go down as the most loyal and committed companion to have pulled on a jersey, and to have been nominated for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
The Frownlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off-field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern-day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes: the National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), the A-League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. NRL player Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015, while NRL star Talatau Amone is the most recent recipient.
The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame honours former players and players who received media attention in previous seasons, for similarly scandalous behaviour, and its inductees include Ben Cousins and Julian O’Neill.
Williams earned the title while playing for the Cronulla Sharks in the early 2000s. He put in the hard yards on the field then was putting in the hard yards at a nightclub with the boys. He was so committed, and so keen to earn a Frownlow nomination, that he didn’t just buy a round for the boys, or act as a wingman; no, he did much more.
He assaulted one of his teammates. The burly front-rower assaulted Jeremy Smith and was jailed for four months.
That’s commitment.
He was initially charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on Smith and, even though the charges were later withdrawn, he’d already served time behind bars and was dropped by the Sharks.
Luckily for Williams, the Canberra Raiders offered him a contract once he left prison and he played for them until 2006. He didn’t show the same level of passion at the Raiders and he eventually drifted away from the NRL.
Now, the former prop can hope for a spot in The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame and an invitation to the Frownlow awards night later this year, where he’s guaranteed to run into a few former teammates.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 