{"id":213482,"date":"2026-05-05T13:21:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T03:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=213482"},"modified":"2026-05-05T13:30:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T03:30:31","slug":"2026-tl-girls-role-change-focus-lara-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2026\/05\/05\/2026-tl-girls-role-change-focus-lara-williams\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 TL Girls Role Change Focus: Lara Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

IN LIEU of a couple of missing National Academy members, the versatile Lara Williams<\/a> got her chance in the middle as Eastern Ranges made it three wins from three to open their 2026 Talent League Girls campaign, accounting for Gippsland Power by 39 points in a one-sided contest at Morwell. The result keeps the reigning premiers firmly on track, and one more interesting subplots of the afternoon was watching Williams\u00a0operate from a new base – pushed onto the ball for the first time in her top-age season after spending the opening rounds in her customary half-back role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> AFLW DRAFT Q&A:<\/strong> Lara Williams (Eastern Ranges)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> 2026 TL GIRLS ROLE CHANGE:<\/strong> Scarlett Marsh<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We took a closer look at Williams and her performance in the win, assessing how the positional experiment is shaping up through Round 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lara Williams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Club:<\/strong> Eastern Ranges 
Height:<\/strong> 168cm
Date of Birth:<\/strong> 29\/08\/2008<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STRENGTHS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

+ Kicking penetration and efficiency
+ Run and carry
+ Footy IQ
+ Second possession winning
+ Defensive pressure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IMPROVEMENTS:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Disposing cleanly under pressure
\u2013 Left-foot consistency<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEASON SO FAR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Round 5:<\/strong> 23 disposals, 4 marks, 7 tackles, 2 clearances, 6 inside 50s, 1 goal, 2 behinds
2026 Season:<\/strong> 16.3 disposals, 3.0 marks, 3.7 tackles, 4.0 inside 50s, 1.7 rebound 50s, 1 goal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams enters 2026 having played across all three lines during her development – a forward in her early days who moved to wing and then settled at half-back last year, where she spent the bulk of an impressive 2025 premiership campaign. Asked at the preseason testing day where she expected to play this season, she pointed firmly to the half-back role – Eastern’s “hunter” position – where her run and carry and penetrating kick could do the most damage going forward. That is where she has operated in the opening rounds, and Eastern have been perfectly happy with the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the decision to move Williams on-ball against the Power came when Brylee Anderson <\/strong>and Scout Semple<\/strong> both missed the Ranges’ clash with Gippsland. Skipper Emily Rankin<\/strong> was the only one of the three normal starters left, and she was joined by talented bottom-ager Perri Goulding<\/strong> and the versatile Williams. Williams is powerful, covers the ground and has shown the football IQ to read the play from defensive positions across all three lines. Whether all of that translates to on-ball output is a separate question, and Round 5 offered the first real data point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The early signs were promising. Williams started at the centre bounce and adopted a similar approach to that used by Dandenong’s Scarlett Marsh<\/strong> in recent weeks – operating behind the play as the second or third receiver rather than crashing the contest, looking to exploit the space and use her kicking quality once the ball was delivered to her hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first quarter she moved the ball capably, with a tidy handball receive on the wing converted into a well-weighted kick to the top of the goalsquare, and an 18-minute mark on the wing that she delivered by foot corridor-side on the 45. Her reading of the play at half-forward – cutting off a Power passage and producing a brilliant kick to the top of the square that a teammate couldn’t convert – was her most eye-catching individual moment of the opening term and reflected a player whose football instincts travel with her regardless of her role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second quarter added more texture. She snuck forward to mark 40 metres out directly in front in the opening two minutes – a moment that showed her forward instinct hasn’t left her – and while her set shot drifted to the right for a behind, the willingness to get there was notable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was at her best as a second-possession winner in the second term, finding the ball at ground level after reading taps and using it quickly into the forward half. Her tackling pressure inside 50 was also a feature – winning a holding the ball free after pinning Grace Dillow <\/strong>– suggesting her defensive habits formed on the back flank translate effectively into the contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third quarter brought a couple of the imperfections you would expect. Caught holding the ball after being tackled before she could handball – unlucky in isolation, but the kind of moment that speaks to the adjustment required when the ball comes at a different speed and angle than it does from half-back – she balanced that with a clean pickup and tidy handball at the 11-minute mark, then followed her own kick downfield with a strong chasing tackle to force a turnover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That last act is perhaps the most telling: the defensive chase and repeat-effort pressure that made her a valued half-back has not gone anywhere. The football instincts are intact, and the body is doing the right things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final quarter delivered the moment that will stay with people. With Eastern in complete control, Williams received from Rankin off the opening centre bounce, drove forward and hit a target inside 50. Her next eye-catching moment was a brilliant, classy goal which came from a neat sidestep around an opponent before a precise 35-metre finish that summed up what she offers when she has time and space in front of her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 23 disposals, seven tackles and two clearances paint the picture of a player growing into the role rather than completely at home in it yet – a distinction worth making – but the competitive foundation and the football quality are not in doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams herself has spoken about wanting to show her power and use it when driving forward. Against the Power, those moments came in bursts rather than as a sustained feature, and the disposal efficiency under congestion – a couple of turnovers included – is the part of the game that will continue to require refinement as she takes more touches in tighter spaces. The balance of her kicking split and decision-making when time contracts will be worth monitoring in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is clear after Round 5 is that Williams has the tools to play on-ball at this level. The bigger question – one that won’t be answered in a single match – is whether the Ranges and Williams settle on this as a potential home, or whether the half-back role where she can take the game on with grass in front of her remains the best stage for what she does. Either way, it was an impressive showing, and suggested that in the scenario that Eastern’s big guns are rested or trialled in other roles, Williams can step in and do the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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