Reece Williams (born 21 September 1985 in

Sydney, New South Wales Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer and referee. As a player, he played for the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League ( NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leagu ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

competition where he played Second Row,

Prop Forward A rugby league team consists of thirteen players on the field, with 4 substitutes on the bench. Each of the thirteen players is assigned a position, normally with a standardised number, which reflects their role in attack and defence, although pl ...

and Centre. Williams retired in 2010 following a series of injuries.

Early career

Williams played football for the Yarrawarrah Tigers. He went to school at Endeavour Sports High School in Caringbah NSW.

Playing career

Williams made his first grade debut in Round 23, Cronulla v St George Illawarra at Toyota Park, 16 August 2003. Williams was rewarded for good form in 2007 when he was selected for City Origin. Williams missed the majority of the 2008 season through a knee injury requiring a knee reconstruction. During 2009 and 2010, Williams suffered a series of head knocks that left him hospitalised twice in an eight-month period (August 2009 and March 2010). In 2009, Williams had a blood clot on his brain requiring surgery. In March 2010, after being hospitalised for concussion, a further blood clot was found on the player's spine. Despite his determination to return to playing football, at the end of 2010, Williams accepted medical advice and announced his retirement. Williams was a one-club player from the local juniors ranks, racking up 98 NRL games for the

since his 2003 debut. While playing professional football, Williams studied part-time and completed a Certificate III and IV in Personal Training as well as a Management certificate. On retirement, he started a Personal Training business specialising in weight loss and fitness, and has been used as an example for young players to look for a career beyond their playing days.

Refereeing career

Williams became a member of the NRL Referees full-time squad in 2013.

References

External links

Cronulla Sharks profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Reece 1985 births Australian rugby league players Australian people of New Zealand descent Australian people of Italian descent Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league centres Rugby league locks Rugby league five-eighths Living people Australian rugby league referees National Rugby League referees People educated at Endeavour Sports High School Rugby league players from Sydney