New Williamstown recruit Clinton Proctor. 61126
BY MICHAEL ESPOSITO
CLINTON Proctor has returned to Williamstown after four years with Frankston.
The goalkicking midfielder said he was eager for success after four tough seasons with lowly side Frankston.
“I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Williamstown, I started (my VFL career) there for the first four years, they gave me my first real crack at it,” Proctor said.
“There’s a bit of unfinished business. I’d like to go back and hopefully play some finals and have some success.”
With captain Brett Johnson and stalwarts Ben Davies and David Stretton leaving the club, Proctor is likely to fill a leadership role at the club.
“I spoke to (Williamstown CEO) Brendan Curry about being vocal and showing some leadership. I have been around for eight seasons now. Although I’m going to be new to the club there’s still going to be a lot of old faces I know and I think I’ve got the respect there already.
Proctor said Box Hill also showed interest in recruiting him, but chose Williamstown because of his history with the club and the seemingly ideal fit for a player of his style.
“They spoke about the fact that they had a lot of midfielders playing through the midfield, and they were just resting up forward, whereas I base my football around kicking goals, and setting up the structures around there and having a real leadership role, and filtering out and helping out through the midfield when I can. So it suits the structure that they need.”
The 26-year-old said injuries were the unlikely catalyst in his rediscovered drive to get the most out of his footy while he was young enough, and he believes being in a team where he is not a prime target for the opposition will benefit him.
“I suffered a bit with injuries late in the year and I didn’t play a lot of football. When I was kicking back on the sidelines watching football, I sort of got my motivation back to really have a crack at the next couple of years,” he said.
“I want to get back to enjoying football and winning games. At Frankston we had some tough times where we were pretty much up against it, and I’d always cop best defenders. Maybe I might fly under the radar a bit at Williamstown and kick a few goals, and set my sights on kicking 30 goals a year and playing every game.”
Proctor also saw potential benefits of moving to an AFL-affiliated club for his vocational ambitions.
“I work in the fitness industry and I’m hoping to maybe in two or three years’ time work my way up to VFL/AFL level in strength and conditioning, with designing pre-seasons and stuff like that. I feel if I can fill my part as a player and also off the field help them out with some assistance fitness-wise , it’s something that might eventuate down the track.”
