Zac Williams has drawn cross-code inspiration in his comeback from an Achilles injury
ZAC Williams has drawn inspiration from Kobe Bryant and Darius Boyd in his comeback from a ruptured Achilles tendon after starring in GWS’s elimination final win over Sydney.
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ZAC Williams has drawn inspiration from Kobe Bryant and Darius Boyd to produce an inspired comeback from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
His return has changed the gameplan for GWS and gives the Giants a real shot at upsetting Collingwood in Saturday night’s semi-final at the MCG.
When he ruptured his Achilles at training in January it looked like his season was over but after jumping online and reading the stories of the former NBA superstar and Broncos star he focused on a 2018 return.
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Boyd ruptured his Achilles at training in December 2014 and made a shock comeback for Brisbane in Round 9 of the 2015 season. He went on to play in all three State of Origin matches for Queensland scoring a try.
Bryant tore his Achilles tendon in April 2013 and returned for the Los Angeles Lakers eight months later.
“As soon as I hurt my Achilles I did research on it and found there were plenty of athletes in different sports who had come back from the injury,” Williams said.
“When Kobe Bryant came back he didn’t lose much of his athleticism and Darius Boyd made a very successful comeback to the NRL and Origin. When I read that I tried to stay positive and get back in time to play finals. That attitude helped me get back in time.”
Williams return could hardly have been more impressive as he hit the ground running to pick up nine first-quarter possessions and finish with 23 for the night including eight marks.
His return also allowed Leon Cameron to play Lachie Whitfield on the wing.
The All-Australian defender had been well held by Sydney in their previous two matches this year when he picked up just 16 and 17 touches. On Saturday night he had a game high 29.
“Lachie had an awesome game,” Williams said.
“He really did plenty of damage and could do plenty more on Saturday night.”
With Williams back Whitfield could be even more lethal on the wide open spaces of the MCG.
Should the Giants keep winning they will play all their finals at the grand final venue from now on with a preliminary final against Richmond waiting if they can beat Collingwood.
The Giants will face the daunting prospect of playing in front of the Magpie army but Williams said they know what to expect.
“We know there will be 80,000 plus Collingwood supporters at the MCG carrying on at us,” Williams said.
“We’ve dealt with that in the past when we played Richmond in the preliminary final.
We don’t have a big supporter base like the big Melbourne clubs but they do show up like they did at the SCG.”
Originally published as Zac Williams has drawn cross-code inspiration in his comeback from an Achilles injury
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