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Carlton Fan favorite Zac Williams paid tribute to his late sister Sam after scoring in the blockbuster against Essendon.
After playing much of his career in the back line, Williams was recently moved forward in a successful move.
WATCH VIDEO ABOVE: Williams pays tribute to late sister.
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He has scored seven goals in the last two weeks and added another in the second game against the Bombers.
After hitting a close-range set piece to make it 27 points for the Blues, Williams kissed his wrist and pointed to the sky.
Williams’ sister Sam lost his battle with cancer almost a year ago.
Sam, a mother of three, had already beaten cancer once when she learned in December 2021 that it had returned.
“She taught me so much and showed me the true meaning of strength and love,” Williams wrote after Sam died on June 5, 2023.
After the match, Williams held back tears as she spoke to Channel 7 about the celebration.
“Thursday was my sister… sorry yeah 12 months on Thursday so I’m getting a bit emotional,” he said.
“It’s been a long week leading up to this game to be honest … my sister’s family, her three kids and husband went to Luna Park actually in Sydney. They came out and that was nice
“I don’t think it came off my boot very well, almost like a float, so I’m glad it went through and just gave her a bit of credit.
“And I know she would be very proud, especially now that I’m playing forward and scoring goals.”
The 29-year-old last month began a difficult 12 months that included spending the entire 2023 season on the sidelines with an Achilles injury.
“I had a pretty tough year last year,” the 29-year-old told Carlton’s Summer Session podcast.
“It’s a great support system to be here at Carlton Football Club.
“If they weren’t all here … it would have made things a lot more difficult. (But it’s) a new year, a new me … bigger and better things to come.”
The former GWS Giant said he would “definitely” use the pain of 2023 “as motivation to get better (and) play great this year”.
“My sister played a big part in getting me to where I am today… my mother and sister played a big part in my life, really, my father died when I was very young, so I had two strong women who to sort of push me in the direction I needed to go…” he said.
“Definitely in that first game, whenever it is, I’m definitely going to wear my black armband for her and I’ll probably wear it all year, honestly, for her, and I’ll wear it with me all year.
“So this year I’ve got a lot of motivation coming from the knee stuff and the rehab stuff and also personal stuff.”
Williams has previously spoken about her relationship with Sam, who was as much a mother as a sister to them after they lost their father when Zach was five.
He bought a house for his sister and her family after nine years in the AFL system.
“I said ‘go find a house you want, I’ve saved my money, I’m ready to buy a family home for you guys,'” Williams told the Ordineroli Speaking podcast in 2021.
“It would be maybe 6-12 months before I finally saw him. I had watched it via FaceTime with her kids and stuff, but once I showed up at the house, it was more surreal.
“It was ‘damn, we finally own a house, our family finally owns something that’s ours.’ Growing up, I never thought about owning my own house or owning anything.
“It was one of the best feelings and every time I come home my sister will thank me, but I tell her she doesn’t need to thank me. I thank her for the way she brought me up and was on my ass when I played.”
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