By Lauren Wood, Williamstown Media
One of the Club’s longest-serving players of the past decade, Downie has decided to hang up the boots after 80 games across five seasons in blue and gold.
Joining the Seagulls ahead of the 2021 season after nine AFL games with GWS, Downie quickly established himself as a caring and respected leader.
But his football journey was far from straightforward.
Downie first emerged at the 2011 AFL Draft Combine before being selected with pick 56 in the NAB AFL National Draft by the Giants for their inaugural AFL season.
He progressed steadily as a developing ruckman, playing 84 NEAFL games between 2012–16, and making his AFL debut in Round 20 of 2013. He went on to play seven games in 2015 and another in 2016.
In early 2017, Downie stepped away from the game to focus on his mental health and was later placed on the long-term injury list.
By May that year, he announced his retirement from football, with GWS granting him an early release from his contract.
He spent the next two years away from the game, working on rediscovering himself and finding balance away from football.
In 2019, he returned at local level with Old Scotch in the VAFA, playing with a new perspective and love for the game.
Seeking a fresh challenge in 2021, Downie joined Williamstown, drawn to the independence of a standalone VFL club.
After an injury-interrupted start, he cemented himself as a stabilising, mature figure in a youthful Seagulls side.
Alongside his football, Downie has dedicated almost five years to his work at Youth Projects, a charity supporting young people, balancing his career on and off the field.
His highlights at Williamstown include playing his 100th combined NEAFL/VFL game against Essendon in 2022, capping the season by winning the Gerry Callahan Medal as the Club’s Best and Fairest.
Over five seasons, he kicked 16 goals for the Seagulls, including a clutch game-saving major against Carlton in Round 8 of 2024.
That same season he also produced a remarkable 70-hit-out performance in tough conditions against Richmond. Across his Williamstown career, he amassed 2,643 hit-outs.
Williamstown Senior VFL Coach Justin Plapp commended Downie’s character.
“Tom is the kind of player you can build a team around — dependable, consistent, and the one you trust when the game was on the line,” he said.
“We were privileged to watch his journey from GWS to becoming the Seagull he is today, and we wish him nothing but the very best for the next chapter of his life.”
The Williamstown Football Club thanks Tom Downie for his outstanding contribution to the Club and congratulates him on a fantastic VFL career.
