EFL 2019: Wantirna South captain Luke Williams stars in Round 1 win against Knox

Chandler medallist Luke Williams put in a best afield performance against his former side to inspire Wantirna South to a Round 1 victory.

Luke Williams gets a kick away for Wantirna South. Picture: Adrian Waller

Chandler medallist Luke Williams put in a best afield performance against his former side to inspire Wantirna South to a Round 1 victory on Saturday.

The Devils jumped out to a 16-point lead by quarter-time at Walker Reserve and extended their advantage to 35 points by the final break against Knox before finishing with a 12.7 (79) to 7.19 (61) win.

Williams was awarded the Chandler Medal in 2015 and was in Knox’s best players in the 2017 Division 2 premiership, but left the club after the grand final win.

EFL: TEARS FLOW AS NUNAWADING ENDS 1386-DAY DROUGHT

EFL: 10 STORIES AND PREDICTIONS TO WATCH IN 2019

EFL: EASTERN LEAGUE ‘BEHIND THE TIMES’ ON KICK-IN RULE

EFL: WHERE TO FIND EX-AFL STARS PLAYING LOCAL FOOTY

EFL: EAST RINGWOOD STAR SET FOR LONG STINT ON SIDELINES

He was appointed of Wantirna South captain on the eve of the season.

“I was excited, I was a little bit nervous but I left Knox on good terms and everyone there is very good to me and always have been,” Williams said.

“It was a joy to see everyone again and pretty interesting to play against them for the first time but enjoyed it.

“I wasn’t really dreading it, I was kind of looking forward to it more than anything.”

Williams said there was added motivation to perform well against his former club, where he won seven best and fairests

“You want to try and put on a pretty good show against your old club,” he said.

“It definitely gave me something extra to play for, even though Round 1 is massive anyway so you don’t need any extra motivation, but it was something in the back of my mind.”

Williams lining up against his former club added a layer of intrigue to the fierce rivalry, who are separated by only a couple of kilometres.

The two clubs have one of the great rivalries in the Eastern Football League but have rarely met in recent years as they have been in different divisions.

Knox was relegated from the top tier last year after a one-win campaign.

“It didn’t really surprise me we’d be playing them Round 1 — it seems it always gets set up that way because there is a bit of a local rivalry,” Williams said.

“There is normally a good crowd that comes out so I kind of smiled to myself when I saw it was Round 1.”

Tim Lee was also in the best players with four goals, while Lincoln Wong, Lachlan Greig and Jake Denes were strong contributors.

WHAT A LEADER LOCAL FOOTY SUBSCRIPTION GIVES YOU ACCESS TO

- Match reports, features, player and coach movements and analysis of all the leagues across Melbourne.

- Unprecedented AFL coverage.

- All the latest football news from across the country including Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and Courier-Mail.

- Latest news and videos from the world’s leading leagues.

- Exclusive digital stories and videos before they go to print.