Magic moments: Nestles champion Geoff 'Wiz' Williams opens up on club loyalty, winning Warrnambool association premiership

The beloved Nestles stalwart has endured some highs but his fair share of lows throughout his storied journey at the club and in the Warrnambool cricket association.

It was his moment in the sun, becoming a premiership player and winning a player of the match medal all on the same day.

His unbeaten 115 from 142 balls will go down as one of the finest knocks seen in recent memory, not only producing it in a grand final under immense pressure but the manner in which he batted with such fluency and class.

The adoring crowd stacked into Reid Oval late on Saturday afternoon to watch greatness unfolding at the crease, roaring in delight every time the ball pinged off his blade.

"There's a lot of joy, we finally did it as a club," he told The Standard moments after the match.

"We've been working hard as a group and club for a while now, 12 or 13 years out of finals is a really long and to reward our season with that is special.

"It didn't matter who got the wickets, made the runs or took catches, everyone did something (on Saturday) and also every week to get us here.

"Sunny (Sanjaya Chathuranga) our first-class player was important, Jacob (Hetherington) our captain, Tim (Ludeman), who batted unreal, there's so many who contributed.

"Wil Hinkley batted really well at the top, Dobbo (Ben Dobson) was a bit unlucky but what a player.

"There's a lot of relief to be honest, but mostly joy.

"I've been playing A grade cricket for nearly 20 years and lost a few finals, haven't played finals in years so to finally be here on the last day instead of being on the scoreboard, doing the lines or doing something for someone else is special.

"It's all about the team and I'm honoured to be a small part of it."

He said he was happy with his own performance after putting in the hard yards into his game.

"I feel like a bit of a plodder at times to be honest but on this ground you get reward for effort when you play your shots. I put a lot of effort into my game this year and I'm glad it paid off," he said.

Since arriving from Wesley Yambuk in 2006-07, nearly two decades ago, 'Wiz' has filled every role imaginable - club coach, captain, teammate and committee member.

He said loyalty and sticking by the club which had given him so much was important to him.

"There's lots of clubs who've certainly called me over the years but at the same time, you play on the best oval, the best wicket and you reward yourself," he said.

"I've never really wanted to leave, there's just so many good people to think of.

"I've coached juniors, been on the committee pretty much the whole time, coached for four, five years so to get that reward for a bit of effort I suppose means a lot."

There was certainly a bittersweet element for the club great to play his brother, Russells Creek coach Cam Williams in the grand final, but he said the pair celebrate each other's successes.

"There's always a bit of banter and we love it. He played well, we let him off early (with the bat) and kept so well," he said.

"We have our fun out there. I probably shouldn't say this, but he was coaching me towards the end there, he wanted me to get a hundred.

"We may have been opposition out there wearing different colours but at the end of the day you want your brother to go really well and I'm the same with him."

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