The chill in the air at the Tyrendarra recreation reserve on a frosty morning in south-west Victoria was palpable for Megan Latham. The grass, slick from overnight rain, mirrored the unease she felt stepping onto the oval for the first time since the end of Tyrendarra’s inaugural women’s football season in 2022. She had quit the club not long after, not due to injury, lack of time, or poor performance, but because of the club’s perceived inaction following a deeply disturbing incident on an end-of-season footy trip. A senior player had sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl.
As whispers of the incident and the player’s subsequent arrest circulated through the clubrooms, Ms Latham described the official response as a deafening silence. “No-one said anything about it,” she recounted. “It seemed more like, ‘Let’s pretend this didn’t happen,’ which was really disappointing, particularly when it impacts so many women. I would describe it as… minimising it, hiding it, not addressing it.”
The player in question, James Williams, was 20 years old when, during Tyrendarra’s end-of-year football trip, he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl. The girl had been attending a concert in Adelaide’s CBD with her mother when the assault occurred. Police charged Williams with rape. He was granted bail the following day and, remarkably, was back playing football with his teammates just months later. For Ms Latham, this was an unacceptable state of affairs.
“I think they’re saying there’s no consequences, or, ‘Sorry, we’re not responsible for giving out consequences based on what you did on our football trip,’” she stated, her voice tinged with frustration. “It was really disappointing and uncomfortable and frustrating too, that there didn’t seem to be any action taken about it. [It felt like] being a footballer definitely trumps women’s concerns.”
Ms Latham chose to leave the club without directly confronting management. “I didn’t want to go through the process of them justifying that behaviour or trying to convince me,” she explained. “Things like sexual assault are very stigmatised and I want to say around here, it can be really defended. And I didn’t feel like I could have that conversation or argument… particularly [with] people that I’d grown so close to.”
The Details of the Incident
The football trip that led to this distressing situation unfolded with concerning details emerging when Williams’s case eventually reached the courts. Following a day of drinking and drug use, Williams and several teammates attended a gig in Adelaide’s CBD. It was during this concert that Williams forcibly sexually assaulted the 15-year-old girl in front of her mother. Despite the girl’s clear refusal – she said, “No, stop” – Williams reportedly responded, “No, it’s fine.” When the girl’s mother intervened, Williams allegedly put his hand back up the girl’s skirt and “glared at the victim’s mother,” as presented in court.
Williams’s defence argued he was under the influence of a “cocktail of drugs” supplied by older teammates, within a context of peer pressure. After being ejected by security, Williams’s friends inquired about the reason for his removal. His response, shared via Snapchat, was a dismissive, “Fingered a bird ha ha ha.” He was later identified by police on CCTV, arrested, and released on bail, ultimately leaving the football trip early.
In April 2024, Williams pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and received a 14-month jail sentence. However, by July of the following year, he had returned to playing senior football with the Tyrendarra Football Club.
Club and League Governance
The Tyrendarra Football Club is a prominent figure in the South West District Football League (SWDFL), boasting 10 premierships and a reputation built on local support and “country values.” The SWDFL operates under the broader governance of AFL Victoria, a subsidiary of the AFL, which oversees Australian Rules football at the state level.
The AFL provides country football clubs with a critical incident response guide, outlining procedures for handling serious situations like sexual assault and recommending contact with the AFL for support. The guide acknowledges the difficulty of managing such incidents for volunteer-led clubs. When a sexual assault is reported, clubs are mandated to contact the police and then report the matter through the AFL’s integrity portal. It remains unclear if this specific incident was escalated to the integrity portal.
The ABC provided the Tyrendarra Football Club with a detailed list of questions and a 48-hour window for response. The club, through its president Scott Easson, stated that due to the “scope and complexity of the issues, and the timeframe given,” they did not have adequate time to provide a comprehensive response. “After consideration, the committee has determined that no further comment will be made at this time,” Easson stated. An offer to extend the deadline was not met with a response.
Expert Perspectives on Club Culture
Kirsty Forsdike, a gender-based violence researcher at La Trobe University, highlighted concerns about transparency when sports organisations handle integrity matters internally. “Their priority is more on brand [management] than it is more so on actually the safety of their members,” she observed. “There is clearly an issue with culture at the grassroots level… we can’t keep going, not doing anything because of the harm it’s causing.”
Erik Denison, who researches gender-based violence in sport at Monash University, expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of the AFL’s current model in addressing cultural issues. “We see so often that the AFL, nothing happens with these investigations,” Dr Denison stated. “This complaints system needs to be the last resort. All they [the AFL] seem to be interested in doing is public relations exercises to keep sponsors happy.”
Other Women’s Experiences at the Club
Megan Latham is not the sole woman to have disassociated herself from the Tyrendarra Football Club due to the handling of this incident. Amy (her name has been changed to protect her identity) also departed the club before the 2023 season, citing the same lack of communication surrounding the off-season assault. She described the matter as being kept “hush hush” and “under wraps.”
“Nothing was ever said to us… it was just like it didn’t happen,” Amy shared. “I’m very happy to state that whole incident, and the way it was dealt with, is the sole reason I don’t play women’s footy anymore — especially for that club.” She recounted taking her concerns to individuals within the club who allegedly dismissed the assault as a “he-said, she-said” matter, even after Williams’s guilty plea and conviction. “I think some [people] also believe that he actually did no wrong,” she added. “That’s the culture the club has. It was just like they all just believed he is innocent or that what happened was not as big a deal as everyone else is making it out to be. It’s an old-school country football club that is still trying to look progressive but it ain’t.”
Another women’s footballer, Bronte (her name has also been changed), corroborated the lack of communication. She stated that no one from the club mentioned the assault when Williams returned to play while on bail in 2023. “I feel like it’s something that definitely should have been told to us,” she said. “I definitely think it was secretive and that we could have at least been given a heads-up.”
The ABC understands the club’s intention was to support Williams with a “second chance” upon his release from prison. However, this decision was not universally accepted. “A lot of us didn’t think he deserved to be around and to be playing,” Bronte expressed.
Williams re-signed with the club in October 2025, with the club celebrating his return on social media as a “classy” midfielder who would be “setting the standard” and lifting the team when needed. “When I saw that it was skin crawling, infuriating, I was just so frustrated and got so angry and [thought], ‘How can this club justify this?’” Ms Latham reacted.
The AFL’s Stance
The AFL was presented with a detailed list of questions by the ABC, along with inquiries directed to AFL Western Victoria and the Tyrendarra Football Club. AFL Western Victoria referred the ABC to the national AFL office.
An AFL spokesperson stated that the decision regarding player eligibility rests with the club and the league. “The decision around whether a person can or cannot play community football sits with the club and league, in this case, the Tyrendarra Football Club and the South West District Football Netball League,” the spokesperson explained. “The AFL and AFL Victoria offer support to community clubs when dealing with club-based issues as needed.” The South West District Football Netball League has also been contacted for comment.
Chyloe Kurdas, an AFLW commentator, argued that footballers’ off-field conduct should be subject to the same scrutiny as their on-field performance. “If you’re at a club season trip, you’re at a fundraising event, you’re there before your senior team plays… you’re there in your remit as a footballer,” she stated. “Therefore your behaviour in that context should be held accountable.”
People or Football?
Occasionally, Megan Latham contemplates a return to playing football. She still possesses her Tyrendarra playing gear, and many of her friends continue to play for the club. However, a comeback is not a viable option, especially as there are no other women’s football clubs within an hour’s drive of her home. She carries a degree of self-blame for not speaking out sooner, admitting it wasn’t something she felt comfortable doing at the time.
“I think the club really needs to look at the culture, the child safety aspects, [and] the way things are communicated,” Ms Latham urged. “It’s honestly like the club doesn’t care about sexual assault at all.” Amy likened the systemic issues to a fish rotting from the head down, while Bronte felt the incident had starkly illuminated the club’s deep-seated cultural problems.
For Ms Latham, the entire ordeal served as a defining moment. “I think they need to look at themselves and work out what they stand for and what they want, and whether they’re OK with it,” she concluded. “Or, at the end of the day, do they just care about doing well at footy?”
