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First Grade
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Crusher rescues the hair apparent
By James Hooper | July 27, 2008
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/spor...5006066,00.html
MANLY cult figure David Williams was resigned to returning to park football with the Hills Bulls, earning $100 a win, when Noel Cleal called offering an NRL lifeline.
Part of the two-year, $110,000 deal meant pouring beers and cleaning tables at Manly Leagues Club three nights a week.
Compared to the alternative of being washed up at the age of 21, the Sea Eagles' offer was the equivalent of winning Lotto.
The shifts at Manly Leagues Club even turned into the catalyst for one of the talking points of the season, Williams' Teen Wolf beard.
"They said I could keep it as long as I kept it tidy or otherwise I had to be clean-shaven for every shift,'' Williams said.
"So I thought bugger it, I'm never shaving again, so it just started from there.''
Since arriving on the northern beaches, Williams has developed into one of the buys of the season, crossing for eight tries in 10 games. But his career was almost over before it began, the winger admitting there were times as a Parramatta rookie when he almost quit.
From midway through 2006 until the end of last season, Williams spent almost as much time in the operating theatre as he did on the field.
A bulging disc in his neck, a busted shoulder, two operations on his hand and a torn hamstring led to a series of torturous rehabilitation programs.
Then, unexpectedly, Manly came knocking through Cleal, whose son Kane played at the same junior club as Williams, the Hills Bulls.
"My contract was finishing at Parramatta and there was no interest from them or practically anyone else other than Manly,'' Williams said.
"So there wasn't really a choice in the matter. It was go to the Sea Eagles or go back to playing for Hills ... so I snapped up the Manly offer pretty quickly.
"I couldn't have any hard feelings against Parra because I didn't play that much football with them.''
Cleal, a Sea Eagles talent scout, rates Williams and Manly prop Josh Perry among the best value buys of the season.
"Our medical team and our physiotherapist can fix a shipwreck, so that was part of the reason why I gave him a ring,'' Cleal said.
"He was a first-grader waiting to happen. We just had to get him into a program.
"When you're faced with the scenario that you could be going back to play A-grade in the local district, it's a pretty daunting thought. Especially when you've been in a full-time program for a while.
"Hills are a club that runs on chook raffles and canteens as a resource provider.''
Williams is accustomed to overcoming adversity. At the age of 8, he was climbing a neighbour's tree when he became impaled on a branch.
It went through his stomach, narrowly missing his liver, and the wound required 23 stitches.
"I was all right. I was back in the tree about three days after I got out of hospital,'' Williams said.
By James Hooper | July 27, 2008
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/spor...5006066,00.html
MANLY cult figure David Williams was resigned to returning to park football with the Hills Bulls, earning $100 a win, when Noel Cleal called offering an NRL lifeline.
Part of the two-year, $110,000 deal meant pouring beers and cleaning tables at Manly Leagues Club three nights a week.
Compared to the alternative of being washed up at the age of 21, the Sea Eagles' offer was the equivalent of winning Lotto.
The shifts at Manly Leagues Club even turned into the catalyst for one of the talking points of the season, Williams' Teen Wolf beard.
"They said I could keep it as long as I kept it tidy or otherwise I had to be clean-shaven for every shift,'' Williams said.
"So I thought bugger it, I'm never shaving again, so it just started from there.''
Since arriving on the northern beaches, Williams has developed into one of the buys of the season, crossing for eight tries in 10 games. But his career was almost over before it began, the winger admitting there were times as a Parramatta rookie when he almost quit.
From midway through 2006 until the end of last season, Williams spent almost as much time in the operating theatre as he did on the field.
A bulging disc in his neck, a busted shoulder, two operations on his hand and a torn hamstring led to a series of torturous rehabilitation programs.
Then, unexpectedly, Manly came knocking through Cleal, whose son Kane played at the same junior club as Williams, the Hills Bulls.
"My contract was finishing at Parramatta and there was no interest from them or practically anyone else other than Manly,'' Williams said.
"So there wasn't really a choice in the matter. It was go to the Sea Eagles or go back to playing for Hills ... so I snapped up the Manly offer pretty quickly.
"I couldn't have any hard feelings against Parra because I didn't play that much football with them.''
Cleal, a Sea Eagles talent scout, rates Williams and Manly prop Josh Perry among the best value buys of the season.
"Our medical team and our physiotherapist can fix a shipwreck, so that was part of the reason why I gave him a ring,'' Cleal said.
"He was a first-grader waiting to happen. We just had to get him into a program.
"When you're faced with the scenario that you could be going back to play A-grade in the local district, it's a pretty daunting thought. Especially when you've been in a full-time program for a while.
"Hills are a club that runs on chook raffles and canteens as a resource provider.''
Williams is accustomed to overcoming adversity. At the age of 8, he was climbing a neighbour's tree when he became impaled on a branch.
It went through his stomach, narrowly missing his liver, and the wound required 23 stitches.
"I was all right. I was back in the tree about three days after I got out of hospital,'' Williams said.
