Caleb Williams: Yamba man and former NRL prodigy faces court after taking his friend’s car

A Clarence Valley man once touted as the next big name in the NRL has pledged to turn his life around after he fell into substance addiction and landed before the courts.

Caleb Williams when he was described as the next Greg Inglis as a teen in 2014. Picture: Luke Marsden.

A Clarence Valley man once touted as the NRL’s “next Greg Inglis” has pledged to turn his life around after he fell into substance addiction and landed before the courts.

Yamba’s Caleb Williams, now aged 24, saw his budding NRL career fall apart when he returned to the Grafton area and began racking up criminal convictions, Maclean Local Court has heard.

Williams was signed as a junior with the Gold Coast Titans as a teen and the court heard he was also a junior with the Parramatta Eels for a time.

A mugshot of Caleb William taken in 2019.

It has been a tragic chain of events for Williams, whose childhood and adult life has been littered with various struggles, but he has declared he wants a fresh start and to turn his life around.

On Thursday, defence lawyer Matilda Lynch told the court Williams began “associating with the wrong crowd” in Grafton and soon developed substance abuse issues.

The court heard Williams quickly developed an extensive criminal history and was on a community corrections order at the time of his most recent offending – taking and driving a car without the consent of the owner, driving without ever holding a licence and larceny.

Williams pleaded guilty to the charges.

In 2014, aged only 15, Williams said in an interview with The Courier Mail he did not remember his mother, who died on his birthday when he was just three-years-old.

He also revealed the previous year was the first time he had seen his father. Williams was raised by his aunty in Yamba.

In the profile, Williams was labelled “one of the most inspirational stories in Australian sport” and touted as “the next Greg Inglis”.

“Holes in his school shoes, the Aboriginal sporting phenom is proof money does not buy athletic success,” journalist Peter Badel wrote.

Caleb Williams hit headlines in state newspapers as his talent became clear in his younger years. Picture: Luke Marsden.

Court documents state Williams was visiting a friend’s house in Yamba on October 18 last year.

He took her phone and car keys when she went to bed, driving off in her Toyota.

“Later that morning, the victim went to the BP on Yamba Rd to try and call her phone and (Williams) answered the telephone,” police facts state.

“The victim asked him to bring her car back or she would report the matter to police.

“(He) replied: ‘Go on report it’.”

Williams drove the car to Junction Hill and Malabugilmah Village, near Casino.

Police tracked down the unlocked car at the village on October 27.

Williams eventually handed himself into the Yamba Police Station. He later admitted to taking the victim’s vehicle without consent, police facts state.

Williams rose to prominence as a youngster, but ran into substance abuse problems, the court heard. Picture: Luke Marsden.

Ms Lynch told the court Williams knew his decision making was poor and he had been clean of substances for about 90 days.

She said Williams “wants a fresh start” and he took on board advice from Indigenous elders.

The court heard Williams had reconnected to the community and joined the Lower Clarence Magpies rugby team where “he is acting as a role model”.

Magistrate Christopher Longley told the court Williams was wanted on a number of warrants for separate allegations when he handed himself in.

He spent two months in custody and was released in April.

Mr Longley said the offending “wasn’t a run of the mill, take a car and give it a ride”.

“But it is a breach of trust to your friend,” he said.

Longley convicted Williams and sentenced him to a two-year community corrections order.

He was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.