AFL premiership coach Mark Williams spotted in Aussie camp ahead of Boxing Day Test

AFL premiership coach Mark Williams has been putting in time with the Australian men’s Test team for their main training session ahead of the Boxing Day Test. The 66-year-old was spotted at the MCG in a Cricket Australia polo with the team on Tuesday morning. Williams coached 273 games at Port Adelaide, including leading the Power to their first premiership since joining the AFL from the SANFL.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today He last coached a senior game in 2010, but has worked as an assistant at a number of clubs since then, including Melbourne, GWS and Richmond. Williams also took charge of VFL outfit Werribee for two years in 2019 and 2020, having also coached at VAFA club AJAX for the previous two years. He remains head of development at Melbourne.



The AFL great is not the first former footy coach to appear in Australian cricket gear during a massive Test series. In 2023, then-recently sacked Gold Coach coach Stuart Dew appeared in the Aussie camp in England for the Ashes. Dew was photographed in a full Australian kit, alongside players and coaches during training at Old Trafford ahead of the fourth Test.

South Australian-born Dew reportedly has a close relationship with SA’s Travis Head. Just like Jasprit Bumrah for India, Head has been far and away Australia’s best player, having scored just one fewer run than the rest of his fellow top seven batters combined. But India believe a bounce barrage may be the best way to tame their Australian nemesis.

Pacer Akash Deep, who made a valuable contribution with the bat for India to avoid the follow-on in the drawn Test at the Gabba, revealed plans for Head needed to change ahead of Boxing Day. The 30-year-old has been in rare form, smashing centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane to certify himself as India’s most in-demand wicket. Head has made 409 runs at an average of 81.

80 across the first three Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series, dominating India even as the rest of Australia’s batters have faced significant issues against Jasprit Bumrah. The left-hander already broke Indian hearts last year when he starred in Australia’s World Test Championship and ODI World Cup final wins. “As fast bowlers, we will stick to the same deliveries and maintain discipline in our bowling,” Deep said on Sunday in Hindi, translated to English.

“We will bowl from both over and around the wicket, assess the pitch and conditions, and plan accordingly. “I think Travis Head, in particular, struggles against short balls. “We won’t let him settle at the crease.

“We’ll target specific areas and hope to force him into mistakes, which will create chances for us.” - With AAP.