Greg Williams This article is about the Australian rules footballer . For the American football coach , see Gregg Williams Greg `` Diesel '' Williams ( born September 30 , 1963 ) was a former champion Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans , Geelong Football Club and the Carlton Football Club . Nicknamed `` Diesel '' , he was one of the finest midfielders the game has ever seen . Williams is a dual Brownlow Medal winner ( with the Sydney Swans in 1986 with 17 votes , a record low for the winner , and with Carlton in 1994 with 30 votes , close to the highest ever ) , a dual VFL/AFL Players Association MVP ( with Carlton in 1994 ) , and a Norm Smith Medal winner with Carlton in 1995 . Often controversial , but always brilliant , Williams mastered the skill of the handball and turned it into a lethal attacking weapon , and his football brain was as good as anyone 's in the history of the game . Williams holds the record for disposals in an AFL match with 51 ( 23 kicks and 28 handballs ) . The most controversial moment of his career came in his final season . In Round 1 after the Carlton vs Essendon game , following a scuffle with longtime rival player Sean Denham , Williams was confronted by the umpire while being taunted by Denham . When the umpire went to step in , from the side , and out of Williams ' view , he pushed the umpire in the chest/shoulder area to get the intruder out of his line of sight , unaware that it was an umpire . The push was not very forceful , the umpire merely needing a backward step to steady himself . The umpire did not see the incident as sufficient for a report . The AFL match reviewers saw it differently , and forced Williams to front the tribunal . The tribunal then proceeded to suspend Williams for nine games - bearing in mind that Phil Carmen was suspended for sixteen matches for headbutting an umpire . Carlton appealed the verdict , and it was overturned , allowing Williams to continue playing through the season . For whatever reason , the AFL decided to pursue Williams ' case further through the Australian Legal System to try to get Williams ' nine week suspension reinstated . Such a move had rarely , if ever , been made before in the VFL/AFL ( outside of charges which were punishable under assault laws. ) The matter continued long through the season , until the AFL had taken the matter before the High Court of Australia , the highest legal authority in Australia . The AFL eventually won the case after Round 16 , four months after the incident had occurred , putting a sour end to Williams ' 250-game career . Footnote : Since that incident , the rules on umpire contact have been extensively changed , so that even rough contact with umpires is now seen as grounds for little more than a fine , in the tribunal 's eyes . External links Greg Williams Profile in Blueseum This article or section does not cite its references or sources . You can help Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations . Greg Williams is also a student studying International Business and Management at Aston University as of 2006 . Preceded by : Gary Ablett Geelong Best and Fairest winner 1985 Succeeded by : Paul Couch Preceded by : Russell Greene Leigh Matthews Trophy 1985 Succeeded by : Paul Roos Preceded by : Brad Hardie Brownlow Medallist 1986 Succeeded by : Tony Lockett , John Platten Preceded by : Gavin Wanganeen Brownlow Medallist 1994 Succeeded by : Paul Kelly Preceded by : Gary Ablett Leigh Matthews Trophy 1994 Succeeded by : Wayne Carey Preceded by : Dean Kemp Norm Smith Medallist 1995 Succeeded by : Glenn Archer Categories : Articles lacking sources | 1963 births | All-Australians | Australian rules footballers | Brownlow Medal winners | Carlton Blues players | Carji Greeves Medal winners | Geelong Cats players | Leigh Matthews Trophy winners | Living people | Norm Smith Medal winners | Sydney Swans players This article is about the Australian rules footballer . For the American football coach , see Gregg Williams Geelong Best and Fairest winner Gary Ablett Paul Couch 1985 Leigh Matthews Trophy Russell Greene Paul Roos 1985 Brownlow Medallist Brad Hardie Tony Lockett , John Platten 1986 Brownlow Medallist Gavin Wanganeen Paul Kelly 1994 Leigh Matthews Trophy Gary Ablett Wayne Carey 1994 Norm Smith Medallist Dean Kemp Glenn Archer 1995 