Rhys Williams wants Victory move to put him on road to 2018 World Cup

Rhys Williams helped Perth Glory make the A-League finals, but had an unhappy season at his hometown club.

Despite time and family having helped ease Rhys Williams' anguish of missing consecutive World Cups, one of Australia's more cultured defensive players remains upbeat about donning the green and gold in Russia next year.

In fact, his World Cup ambitions were the driving force behind his latest move from hometown club Perth Glory to A-League runners-up Melbourne Victory after months of transfer speculation.

Key to his decision to forego the sunnier climes and postcard views of Sydney or elsewhere in Asia and opt for Melbourne was coach Kevin Muscat's ties to his former boss and now Socceroos manager Ange Postecoglou.

"Yes,Kevin's relationship [with Postecoglou was important to my decision], but the main thing now is get ready for my new team and hit the ground running. it's a huge season with the World Cup coming ... and I don't want to miss this one," Williams said.

"In my experience, Ange likes the way I play the game, we got off on good terms on his first camp [with the national squad] and have kept in touch, and I think my experience will help the boys."

The 28-year-old, who spent almost a decade in England's second-tier with Middlesbrough, was a key figure in two successful World Cup qualifying campaigns in 2010 and 2014. But, he agonisingly missed the tournaments in South Africa and Brazil due to injury.

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