WHEN Tom Williams hurt his foot midway through the VFLseason of 2005, he was told he'd be sidelined for two weeks.

Almost two years later, he was able to play again afterbeing diagnosed with a completely broken navicular bone.

"I know players play with it fractured, because itdoesn't really hurt, but I actually snapped it right through really bad. Itactually didn't hurt that much when I did it, and the Werribee doctor told me Iwas going to be out for two weeks," Williams said.

"He just got the weeks and the years mixed up – an easymistake to make, I suppose!"

Williams described the navicular bone as being located"under where the knot on your shoelace sits", and being one of thosebones that "doesn't get a lot of blood, which you need to heal".

The first time he broke it, he was simply running throughthe midfield and felt it snap – although he conceded it was probably fracturedbefore then as he'd previously suffered a bit of pain in the region.

What would follow would be two years of aggravation, two 'almostcomebacks' (and two bitter disappointments), as well as a bonding experiencewith the other Bulldogs confined to rehab for long-term injuries.

"Frustrating is an understatement," Williams said."It drove me insane, really.

"Two years on the sidelines … having 'Darc' therehelped me a lot because he did his injuries around the same time, and he wasout for the same time as well so I wasn't alone. "His wisdom helped me getthrough it, and the five knees we had last year gave me a lot of company, whichhelped.

"But, every time I did it, I was nearly ready to play.I think the third time I did it, I was actually supposed to play the week thatI did it.

"I was training, and I was having a bit of pain, so Ihad an x-ray and found out it had gone again, so I was in trouble again."

Now, his navicular is "as solid as a rock", and hecan get back to focusing on trying to get a kick – as well as coping with theexpectations placed on him owing to the fact he was drafted at No.6 in the 2004NAB AFL Draft.

"It's not the first thing I think about, but I'm awarewhere I went in the draft and of how other guys around me have gone," hesaid.

"There is a little bit of extra expectation there, butno one has really put pressure on me at the club. That helps a bit."

Williams lives with Ryan Griffen, who can relate to thepressure of expectations after being picked with the third selection in thesame draft.

He believes residing with Griffen "helps to keep hisfeet on the ground", while the support of his parents, Steve and Terri,has helped him immensely – even if his former rugby-playing dad was a littlesurprised he took to the rival game.

"It was a bit weird, because my dad just thought Iwould play rugby," he said.

"I suppose they were surprised how quickly it happened,and so was I. I didn't think it would happen that quick; I thought there was amuch longer process involved."

But it was ultimately an AFL presentation by former SydneySwan Mark Browning that convinced him to give the game a go – and he becamehooked.

"Mark came to my house one day, and I'm not sure how hefound out, but he just heard that I might be a good player if I startedplaying," he said.

"He came around and gave me a presentation, and said, 'thisis what's required to be an AFL player'; running times, speed times, endurancetimes, and I thought I might be able to do that, so I decided to give it acrack because it would help my kicking for rugby.

"I turned out to like it a bit more than I thought Iwould."