Collingwood sanctions Williams
Collingwood defender Marley Williams will assist the cause of the Salvation Army for the next 10 weeks for his role in a late night scuffle in his home town of Albany, Western Australia.
Williams, 19, was charged with assault as a consequence of the incident and is to appear at a committal hearing in Albany later this month.
Collingwood director of football, Geoff Walsh, said that although the matter is still to play out in court Williams has agreed to spend time each week working for the Salvation Army up until the season begins to atone for putting himself in the position to be drawn into a regrettable incident.
The decision to spend time with the Salvation Army was arrived at after consultations between Williams, senior players, coaches and staff this week.
"While we remain very supportive of Marley, the fact is he was out late, drinking, and put himself in a high risk scenario," Walsh said.
"We believe Marley has already learnt from the incident and now recognises that he had the opportunity to make a better decision. He is certainly remorseful. Hopefully, the next 10 weeks will impress upon him the need to uphold the values and standards of the Collingwood Football Club."
Williams joined Collingwood as a rookie in 2012. He played six matches and was promoted to the senior list at the season's end.
With the case to proceed to court next week, the club is not in a position to comment further.