During a training exercise in the 2023 pre-season, forward Jack Williams suffered a ruptured spleen. The injury kept him on the sidelines for the first half of the season, before ultimately recovering and playing a senior game in Round 15.
The 20-year-old joined the Eagles from East Fremantle in 2021, initially as a development project in the WAFL side during 2022. However, the youngster got a surprise call-up to the seniors after the Eagles struggled to field a side, debuting in Round 2 against the Kangaroos. That was his only senior game until his eventual return to the side in Round 15 the following year.
Speaking to the club, Williams provided an update on his recovery and goals for 2024.
“It's feeling fine now, everything is back to normal,” Williams said.
“The recovery was a long process, about three months in total, when it first happened it was one month of doing absolutely nothing, which threw me off a bit."
Williams played the last 10 games of the season, averaging 6.9 disposals per outing along with five goals during his stint in the seniors.
“I was fortunate enough to play the last 10 games of the year, which I was really happy with, it gave me a lot of confidence going into this year and this pre-season," said Williams.
At 198cm tall, the forward has implemented a ruck craft into his game, along with being a towering presence in the forward 50.
“I was called up to play deep forward and chop out in the ruck,” Williams continued.
“I think in that aspect, my ruck game definitely improved a lot, I was playing against some big bodies, some experienced ruckmen and I was happy that I could develop that area of my game and be versatile for the team.
“I felt like throughout each game I just gained confidence, and I think the team did as well, and towards the back end of the year were able to get a little bit of momentum which I think will help us going into this season.”
Williams has had plenty of leaders to learn from since arriving at the club in 2021, namely new Eagles skipper Oscar Allen. With the potential to be a long-term tall target with Allen, Williams will be looking to take great strides in his game as he comes out of contract at the end of 2024.
“Oscar Allen is a big one and it's great to see him as a club skipper now,” Williams said.
“When I got to the club back in 2021, he was still a really big voice back then and just someone who had been in the team for a few years and was starting to make a name for himself.
“He was an easy one to just follow what he was doing, and he was really good with the young guys."
Additionally, veteran defender duo Tom Barrass and Jeremy McGovern seemingly aided the youngster's forward development.
“Some of the other leaders at the club, Jeremy McGovern, Tom Barrass, I've been playing against them at training for a couple of years and they're unreal defenders, some of the best in the comp," the 20-year-old said.
“It's great to learn from them and get a different perspective to my game from their eyes as well as defenders, and they're always really helpful.”
The upcoming 2024 season is shaping up to be a big one for Williams as he aims to continue where he left off.
“I just want to keep developing my game in a forward direction, and continue on from last year,” Williams said.
“I've got some elements I'm working on individually but I just want to be able to slot into the team if I can and work on all aspects of my game, including ruck if needed.
“And just working on my forward craft, and trying to get my fitness up, obviously coming off those couple of months off early last year, I probably wasn't playing at full fitness towards the end of the year.
“Now that I've got a full pre-season under my belt, I'm hoping to really launch into the start of the season.”
The Eagles will be looking to significantly improve after a woeful 2023 campaign. Their season begins in Round 1 in Adelaide against the Power.