Bill Nicholls (Australian footballer)

William Lindsay Nicholls[1] (born 2 January 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn and Richmond in the Australian Football League (AFL).

For Vanuatu association footballer, see Bill Nicholls (Vanuatuan footballer).

Bill Nicholls
Personal information
Full name William Lindsay Nicholls
Date of birth (1981-01-02) 2 January 1981
Original team(s) Falcons
Draft 69th, 1999 AFL Draft
Height 184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 86 kg (190 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2001 Hawthorn 6 (5)
2003–2004 Richmond 10 (2)
Total 16 (7)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2004.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Nicholls, who was just 15 when he began playing at North Shore in Geelong, was recruited from the Falcons late in the 1999 AFL Draft.[2] He had a memorable debut in 2001 for Hawthorn with 17 disposals and three goals against Geelong at Docklands Stadium and finished the year with an elimination final appearance.

With a hamstring injury keeping him out of action in 2002, Nicholls nominated for the 2002 AFL Draft and was picked up by Richmond with the 47th selection. Injuries continued to restrict him and he could only manage 10 games in his two seasons.[3] Nicholls retired from football at the end of the 2004 season.[4]

On 18 June 2012, a twenty-six-year-old man was shot outside Nicholls's home in Corio. Nicholls was arrested and questioned by the police over the shooting but later released.[4] In April 2013 he was arrested by the Victoria Police Special Operations Group[5] and subsequently charged over both the June 2012 incident and another shooting in January 2013.[6] In February 2015 he was found guilty of shooting two men.[7] On 23 March 2015 he was sentenced to 11 years (8 years minimum before parole) in gaol.[8]

References
  1. Thomson, Andrew (29 April 2013). "Ex-Roosters footballer in dramatic arrest". The Standard. Warrnambool: Fairfax Regional Media. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  2. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-920910-78-5.
  3. "Bill Nicholls". AFL Tables.
  4. Levy, Megan. "Man shot outside home of ex-AFL player". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  5. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/ex-afl-footballer-billy-nicholls-charged-over-shootings/story-fnat79vb-1226630279306
  6. "Man charged over Vic shootings". 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013.
  7. "Disgraced footballer behind bars after being found guilty of shooting two men". 18 February 2015.
  8. Nicholls, Bill. "FOrmer AFL Player". www.theage.com.au. The Age. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
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