Williams on joining the west

By Stephanie Smarrelli 

There's no doubt Fran Williams is one of the world's best defenders. 

Having already cemented her spot as an England Rose after epic performances in the UK's top league, Williams’ next career move was one she didn't take lightly. 

Williams has chosen the West Coast Fever as her next home, with the hopes of making an impact in the world's best netball league. 

But the 26-year-old has high expectations. 
 
“I joked with Dan (Ryan) before coming that I wasn't going to come over to not be a part of finals... and to not challenge for that premiership," she said. 

Fresh off a premiership in the UK’s Netball Super League, Williams felt she had pushed herself as much as she could in her home country. 

“We had a successful season with Loughborough Lightning last year and winning that Grand Final in the manner we did was huge. Now I want to step up and see if I can recreate that in SSN,” she said. 

As an avid fan of the SSN, Williams didn’t think twice about packing her bags to fly to the other side of the world when West Coast Fever head coach Dan Ryan reached out.  

“SSN has always been a league that I've admired and looked up to as the top league in the world. I used to watch the games and think that intensity and standard looked incredible,” she said. 

“When Dan got in contact about an opportunity to come over to play it was something I jumped at for that next challenge.  

"I’m at the point in my career where I'm starting to make some impact internationally and I think my game will only improve being part of Fever.” 

The icing on the cake for Williams was the connections she had with Ryan and his assistant coach Sara Francis-Bayman through the Netball Super League. 

"Dan’s had some time coaching me over there, so there was already a relationship which was nice, and it hasn’t felt completely new,” she said. 

"Same with Sara Francis-Bayman, she coached me for a little bit at Loughborough Lightning so coming over I felt quite confident that I'd have the backing from the coaches, and they'd be good people to help take my game to the next level." 

Despite arriving in Perth after Fever's preseason had already started, Williams is settling in well.  

And Fever's newest recruit puts that down to the "amazing” group of girls she is surrounded by. 

"I'm really enjoying the setup here and the group of girls that we've got is amazing, I've felt really welcomed right from the start. It's nice to join when we're already in the flow of preseason because I feel like I've had to just get stuck straight in,” she said.  

Speaking about her teammates, Williams touched on how exciting it is to play with fellow defenders Sunday Aryang and Kadie-Ann Dehaney who offer a mix of international experience. 

"We've got three international teams represented in that defensive unit,” she said. 

"It's exciting because we all bring different styles of play and a different bit of flair.  We've got a great connection already which is something that will just grow as the season goes on." 

She also expressed her excitement to play with the Suncorp Super Shot and the challenge it brings to her game, saying she always enjoyed watching it but didn't realise how challenging it would be to defend. 

"It's not until you're in a training environment do you realise how much it changes the way you have to defend. It's exciting to have that challenge and it allows different styles of play to shine,” she said.  

Williams is one of five English athletes playing in the Suncorp Super Netball League, which Williams felt might give her a slight advantage coming up against shooters she's familiar with through the England Roses program. 

However, it is a double-edged sword. 

“It will also give them an advantage with me. There are three players who I have had most of my court time against in a Roses training environment but equally that's the same for them," Williams said. 

"It will always be fun coming up against your national teammates and hopefully I'll get that one up and have some bragging rights to take into training camps. 

And while moving across the world seems like a daunting task, the thing Williams has found most challenging might come as a surprise. 

The heat. 

“I landed in Perth and experienced a week of 40C straight. Coming from winter in London it’s been quite the difference adjusting to the heat here, but I'm enjoying it now and getting in my sea swims,” she said. 

Heat aside, Williams confessed she is looking forward to being part of the new-look Fever lineup, which has experienced the most change of any SSN club during the offseason. 

“I'm looking forward to seeing what's possible for our team. I know there's been a lot of change to Fever, and it's something we're not shying away from but embracing. It feels special already, and I've only been here a month,” she said. 

“I really want to contribute as much as I can to this team and hopefully get West Coast Fever another premiership.”