![Yarrawonga forward Leigh Williams was named the Ovens and Murray captain after Wednesday night's final training session at Birallee Park in Wodonga. Picture by James Wiltshire Yarrawonga forward Leigh Williams was named the Ovens and Murray captain after Wednesday night's final training session at Birallee Park in Wodonga. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/41833295-2051-4692-bcff-47bf4e1274e6.jpg/r0_0_5472_3648_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Coming to play in the Ovens and Murray has turned out to be one of the best decisions Leigh Williams has ever made.
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The prolific forward racked up more than 600 goals playing for Norwood in Melbourne's Eastern Football Netball League but now calls Yarrawonga home and has already booted 106 in 21 games for the Pigeons.
Williams captains the O and M against the Goulburn Valley this weekend in what will be a hugely proud moment for the 33-year-old.
"Coming from the Eastern footy league, I always knew a fair bit about the Ovens and Murray," Williams said.
"Going back over the last decade, hearing stories of Fev (Brendan Fevola), Barry Hall and Setanta (O'hAilpin), I think a lot of the metro leagues knew the GV, Geelong footy league and the Ovens and Murray were considered the top three country leagues if you were going to go anywhere.
"Over those COVID years, I decided to have a little bit of a shake-up with life and I definitely don't regret anything.
![Ovens and Murray captain Leigh Williams. Picture by James Wiltshire Ovens and Murray captain Leigh Williams. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/6b785517-cd1f-4bd6-80ae-78c054f4afdc.jpg/r0_0_5316_3544_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"This has been the perfect fit, I've loved every minute of being up here.
"I can see why a lot of people had a lot of good things to say about Yarrawonga before I even made the move.
"I've just bought a house here and the lifestyle, the small-town environment, you've got the lake, plenty of activities and the luxury of having 90 percent of the playing group living here."
Williams hit the ground running at Yarrawonga, kicking five goals on debut and then monstering a career-high 15 against North Albury en route to capturing the Doug Strang Medal.
He finished 2022 with four goals in the epic grand final defeat to Wangaratta but said the Pigeons' off-field environment had made as big an impression on him as events on the field.
"It's hard to say in terms of what all the other clubs are doing but from my observation, you've got so many people that are invested in making the community great, not just the football itself," Williams said.
![Leigh Williams kicks a goal in the Ovens and Murray grand final. Picture by James Wiltshire Leigh Williams kicks a goal in the Ovens and Murray grand final. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/03201861-1953-46f1-bb41-93bfdc5cc655.jpg/r0_0_5472_3648_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"If you're making sure you've got a great community, and I'm talking about volunteers who are helping the junior pathway...
"Nathan Bibby is doing a lot of work getting the little Pigeon pathway going and improving the juniors in their transition into the senior club, so you've got a lot of great people that are so committed to the overall experience.
"Coming from metro, you don't have the same town vibe where everyone has that buy-in; the group of volunteers in the metro leagues is probably a lot smaller.
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"Even just having the netball playing on the same day at the same place matters.
"In the Eastern footy league they still have the netball on Friday night and the football on Saturday so as much as they're calling themselves football-netball clubs, it's completely different.
"By having the football-netball clubs all playing together, it brings the community together a lot more because there's players who have their partners and their kids all playing on the same day so it makes the club feel like more of a home."
![Leigh Williams at interleague training. Picture by James Wiltshire Leigh Williams at interleague training. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/6fccf603-6dc6-4629-97a1-38d39f2df7ec.jpg/r0_0_5472_3648_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Williams is one of four Pigeons named to face the GVL at Albury Sportsground.
"I didn't know a lot of the players last year," he said.
"But learning more about them, you can carry that into your club environment when you're playing against them as well as developing more relationships around the league and earning respect from other players.
"That's a big part of why players play interleague.
"Everyone's pretty competitive but these days there are no real grudges.
"Having plenty of good battles with Lucas Conlan and Charlie Morrison, you appreciate having them on your side!
![Leigh Williams and Lucas Conlan will be on the same side this weekend. Picture by James Wiltshire Leigh Williams and Lucas Conlan will be on the same side this weekend. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/7a5e59d5-d91c-43ea-a70e-f5495108f6a8.jpg/r0_0_4362_2908_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I remember playing against Sam Jewell last year as well, you have respect for each other and everyone enjoys a beer after the game.
"Joey Richards getting drafted, for me, was a good signal of how strong this league is.
"You've got guys coming up from their home clubs and regions like Kaelan Bradtke (now at Richmond), so it's a credit to the region.
"You've got a lot of ex-AFL and ex-VFL players coming back to this level of country footy, purely because the standard is good.
"A lot of guys can go and play bush footy and potentially get a lot more money but a lot of guys still play at this standard because it's a good balance of professionalism and you're still playing local footy."
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