Mark Melville Williams (born 21 August 1958) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. As a player, Williams represented West Adelaide and in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as well as Collingwood and Brisbane Bears in the Australian Football League (AFL), from the 1970s to the 1990s.
One of several successful father-son combinations in Australian rules football, Williams became a successful coach after finishing his playing career, leading to their first AFL premiership in 2004.
Playing career
South Australian National Football League (SANFL)
West Adelaide
The son of South Australian football legend Fos Williams, Williams playing career began with in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), where his father was serving as coach. He represented West Adelaide on 64 occasions for 37 goals.
Port Adelaide (SANFL)
Williams then moved to the Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), becoming one of the stars of the league, where he was part of the 1979 and 1980 Premiership sides.
Essendon Football Club (1995–1996)
Williams joined AFL club Essendon as an assistant coach under senior coach Kevin Sheedy for the 1995 season and 1996 season.
Port Adelaide, under Williams in his first year as senior coach in the 1999 season, finished seventh on the ladder and making the finals, but were eliminated by the eventual premiers Kangaroos. In the 2000 season, Port Adelaide's on-field performance under Williams dropped en route to a fourteenth-place finish on the ladder with seven wins and fourteen losses. In the 2001 season, Williams guided Port to finish third on the ladder but were eliminated by Hawthorn in the semi-final. After this, Port Adelaide then won the minor premiership three seasons in a row under Williams' reign, firstly in 2002, Port under Williams were eliminated by the eventual premiers Brisbane Lions in the preliminary final, secondly in 2003, Port under Williams lost to eventual runners-up Collingwood in the preliminary final, and lastly in 2004, after failing to reach the Grand Final in either 2002 or 2003, the club under Williams went on to win its first AFL premiership in the 2004 AFL Grand Final against the Brisbane Lions by 40 points.
In 2005, Port Adelaide finished eighth with eleven wins, one draw and ten losses and therefore just made the finals. Port eliminated North Melbourne in the first elimination final in 2005, but were eliminated by Adelaide Crows in the 2005 semi final by 80 points. In 2006, Port missed the finals, when their on-field performance dropped, to finish twelfth with eight wins and fourteen losses. In 2007, Williams once again coached Port Adelaide to the grand final, but suffered the worst ever grand final defeat, losing to Geelong by 119 points.
In the 2008 season, Port Adelaide missed the finals, finishing thirteenth with seven wins and fifteen losses. Throughout 2009, Port Adelaide's inconsistent on-field performances continued to focus on Williams' future at the club. Late in the season, following the appointment of Mark Haysman as CEO, and after much conjecture in the media, Williams was offered a new 2-year contract. At the end of the 2009 season, Port Adelaide missed the finals for the second consecutive year, finishing tenth with nine wins and thirteen losses.
In the 2010 season, Port Adelaide were thirteenth after Round 14, with five wins and nine losses. As a result, Williams resigned as senior coach of Port Adelaide On 9 July 2010 and coached his final game, against Collingwood at AAMI Stadium in Round 15, 2010, losing to Collingwood by 26 points. Williams was replaced by assistant coach Matthew Primus as caretaker senior coach for the rest of the 2010 season, who was eventually employed as full-time senior coach.
Greater Western Sydney Giants (2011–2012)
In November 2010, Williams signed with the Greater Western Sydney Giants as the senior assistant coach under senior coach Kevin Sheedy. In September 2012, Williams informed the club after the last home and away game of the season that he would not be honoring the final season of his contract in 2013.
Richmond Football Club (2013–2016)
After the completion of the 2012 home and away season, Williams signed with the Richmond Football Club in an assistant coaching role as a development coach working with senior coach Damien Hardwick. In November 2014, Williams was diagnosed with lymphoma. Williams left the Richmond Football Club at the end of the 2016 season, after he was told that his contract would not be renewed due to a clean-out at the club.
AJAX Football Club (2017–2018)
In 2016, Williams joined Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) club AJAX to serve as its senior men's coach, starting in 2017. He served as coach for a total of two seasons, departing at the end of 2018 after the club finished second-last in Premier B and was consequently relegated to Premier C.
Werribee Football Club (2019–2020)
In September 2018, Williams was announced as new senior coach of Victorian Football League club Werribee on a three-year deal. In his first season at the helm, Williams led Werribee to the VFL finals for the first time since 2015 and its first time as a standalone club in 20 years.
Melbourne Football Club (2020–2025)
In early December 2020, Williams was appointed the new head of development at Melbourne Football Club in an assistant coaching role, replacing the former head of development Matthew Egan and working with senior coach Simon Goodwin. Williams also played a key off-field role in the club's 2021 premiership victory by being part of the club's coaching panel. On 21 August 2025, it was announced Williams would depart the Melbourne Football Club at the end of the 2025 AFL season.
Footballing dynasty
Williams comes from a large and intensely proud footballing dynasty, closely aligned with Port Adelaide. His father, the late Fos Williams, is often referred to as the father of the Port Adelaide Football Club. His twin brother Anthony (died 1988) played at SANFL level, while younger brother Stephen played at both SANFL and AFL level and coached Port Adelaide to three SANFL premierships. His sister, Jenny, briefly served as a psychologist with the club. Mark is married to Pauline and they have three sons, PhD Candidate Isaac, Marcus, Louis and two daughters.
Statistics
Playing statistics
:
|-
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1981
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 21 || 25 || 21 || 18 || 388 || 129 || 517 || 62 || || 0.8 || 0.7 || 15.5 || 5.2 || 20.7 || 2.5 ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1982
|style="text-align:center;"|Collingwood
| 21 || 22 || 22 || 14 || 340 || 130 || 470 || 91 || || 1.0 || 0.6 || 15.5 || 5.9 || 21.4 || 4.1 ||
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1983
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 21 || 22 || 42 || 22 || 353 || 115 || 468 || 98 || || 1.9 || 1.0 || 16.0 || 5.2 || 21.3 || 4.5 ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1984
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 21 || 23 || 53 || 31 || 257 || 113 || 370 || 77 || || 2.3 || 1.3 || 11.2 || 4.9 || 16.1 || 3.3 ||
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1985
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 21 || 22 || 16 || 13 || 341 || 134 || 475 || 83 || || 0.7 || 0.6 || 15.5 || 6.1 || 21.6 || 3.8 ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1986
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 21 || 21 || 24 || 20 || 269 || 139 || 408 || 95 || || 1.1 || 1.0 || 12.8 || 6.6 || 19.4 || 4.5 ||
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1987
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 2 || 19 || 27 || 16 || 263 || 133 || 396 || 72 || 46 || 1.4 || 0.8 || 13.8 || 7.0 || 20.8 || 3.8 || 2.4
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1988
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 2 || 14 || 5 || 16 || 218 || 90 || 308 || 50 || 30 || 0.4 || 1.1 || 15.6 || 6.4 || 22.0 || 3.6 || 2.1
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1989
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 2 || 22 || 19 || 18 || 310 || 151 || 461 || 84 || 56 || 0.9 || 0.8 || 14.1 || 6.9 || 21.0 || 3.8 || 2.5
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1990
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 2 || 11 || 7 || 11 || 135 || 72 || 207 || 26 || 26 || 0.6 || 1.0 || 12.3 || 6.5 || 18.8 || 2.4 || 2.4
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| Career
! 201
! 236
! 179
! 2874
! 1206
! 4080
! 738
! 158
! 1.2
! 0.9
! 14.3
! 6.0
! 20.3
! 3.7
! 2.4
|}
Coaching statistics
:
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 1999
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 23 || 12 || 11 || 0 || 52.2% || 7 || 16
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2000
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 22 || 7 || 14 || 1 || 34.1% || 14 || 16
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2001
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 23 || 15 || 8 || 0 || 66.7% || 3 || 16
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2002
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 25 || 19 || 6 || 0 || 76.0% || 1 || 16
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2003
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 25 || 19 || 6 || 0 || 76.0% || 1 || 16
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2004
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 25 || 20 || 5 || 0 || 80.0% || 1 || 16
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2005
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 24 || 12 || 11 || 1 || 52.1% || 8 || 16
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2006
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 22 || 8 || 14 || 0 || 36.4% || 12 || 16
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2007
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 25 || 17 || 8 || 0 || 68.0% || 2 || 16
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2008
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 22 || 7 || 15 || 0 || 31.8% || 13 || 16
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2009
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 22 || 9 || 13 || 0 || 40.9% || 10 || 16
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" | 2010
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 15 || 5 || 10 || 0 || 33.3% || 10 || 16
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=2| Career totals
! 273
! 150
! 121
! 2
! 55.3%
! colspan="2"|
|}
See also
- 1990 SANFL Grand Final
References
External links
- Official Website of the Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club
- Official Website of the Port Adelaide Football Club
- The Power From Port – Unofficial Port Adelaide Power and Magpies Football Clubs Website
- Profile at Australian Football