After his fallout with the MCC, Wills moved freely about Victoria, playing for any club of his choosing.
He became president of Collingwood and vice-president of Richmond, raising the standard of the latter's play to make it the premier club in the colony.
There were calls to ban Wills from certain club matches, for his appearance in a side, often as a late inclusion, altered the odds to such a degree that bookmakers were forced to declare "all bets are off".
All clubs still coveted Wills when it suited their cause, and scarcely a day passed when he was not playing or practising cricket.

Wills retained the captaincy of Victoria for the January 1859 intercolonial against New South Wales, held at the Domain.
On day one, he broke his right middle finger while attempting a catch.
Undeterred, Wills top scored in the first innings with 15* and took 5/24 and 6/25, carrying Victoria to an upset win.
He resigned from the intercolonial match committee in protest of Thompson chastising him for not practicing ahead of the next match against New South Wales.
During a follow-up practice match, players struggled in the day's heat, and ignoring calls to retire, Wills suffered a near-fatal sunstroke.
Hammersley wrote that Wills felt obliged to perform for the large crowd that had gathered to watch him.
Over 25,000 people attended the MCG in February 1860 to see Victoria, captained by Wills, play New South Wales.
Wills bowled unchanged in both innings, taking 6/23 and 3/16, and top scored with 20*.
Victoria won by 69 runs.
The Melbourne media gave Wills the sobriquet "Great Gun of the Colony".
A British correspondent called him "a cricketer born".
The Sydney press, championing Wills as a native New South Welshman, agreed:
Tall, muscular, and slender, Mr. Wills seems moulded by nature to excel in every branch of the noble game, ... on the field we find him the admiration of the ground, while in the combination of his successes, [his teammates] recognise with pride the still more arduous duties of an unwearied and most discreet captain.

Wills remained an influential figure in Australian football from 1859 to 1860.
While he fought for the adoption of several Rugby School customs—such as a free kick for marking, the use of an oval-shaped ball, and (unsuccessfully) a crossbar—he pushed the game in new directions as a captain and tactician, such as during an 1860 match when he used positional play to exploit the code's lack of an offside law, at which point, according to James Coventry, "the full potential of the sport started to be realised".

At Wills' invitation, his cousin H. C. A. Harrison took up football in 1859, and quickly became a leading player and captain.
He looked up to Wills, terming him "the beau-ideal of an athlete"—high praise given Harrison's status as the champion runner of Victoria.
Their presence in Geelong fuelled a local craze for football and ensured the Geelong Football Club's supremacy in the early 1860s.
In an era when players moved freely among clubs, Wills still represented Melbourne, and in 1860, became the first captain and secretary of the Richmond Football Club (no connection with the AFL club).
The code underwent revisions around this time, principally in response to the on-field actions of dominant players. "
And there were none more dominant than Wills and Harrison", writes Coventry.
After his fallout with the MCC, Wills moved freely about Victoria, playing for any club of his choosing. He became president of Collingwood and vice-president of Richmond, raising the standard of the latter's play to make it the premier club in the colony. There were calls to ban Wills from certain club matches, for his appearance in a side, often as a late inclusion, altered the odds to such a degree that bookmakers were forced to declare "all bets are off". All clubs still coveted Wills when it suited their cause, and scarcely a day passed when he was not playing or practising cricket.
Wills retained the captaincy of Victoria for the January 1859 intercolonial against New South Wales, held at the Domain. On day one, he broke his right middle finger while attempting a catch. Undeterred, Wills top scored in the first innings with 15* and took 5/24 and 6/25, carrying Victoria to an upset win. He resigned from the intercolonial match committee in protest of Thompson chastising him for not practicing ahead of the next match against New South Wales. During a follow-up practice match, players struggled in the day's heat, and ignoring calls to retire, Wills suffered a near-fatal sunstroke. Hammersley wrote that Wills felt obliged to perform for the large crowd that had gathered to watch him. Over 25,000 people attended the MCG in February 1860 to see Victoria, captained by Wills, play New South Wales. Wills bowled unchanged in both innings, taking 6/23 and 3/16, and top scored with 20*. Victoria won by 69 runs. The Melbourne media gave Wills the sobriquet "Great Gun of the Colony". A British correspondent called him "a cricketer born". The Sydney press, championing Wills as a native New South Welshman, agreed:
Tall, muscular, and slender, Mr. Wills seems moulded by nature to excel in every branch of the noble game, ... on the field we find him the admiration of the ground, while in the combination of his successes, [his teammates] recognise with pride the still more arduous duties of an unwearied and most discreet captain.
Wills remained an influential figure in Australian football from 1859 to 1860. While he fought for the adoption of several Rugby School customs—such as a free kick for marking, the use of an oval-shaped ball, and (unsuccessfully) a crossbar—he pushed the game in new directions as a captain and tactician, such as during an 1860 match when he used positional play to exploit the code's lack of an offside law, at which point, according to James Coventry, "the full potential of the sport started to be realised".
At Wills' invitation, his cousin H. C. A. Harrison took up football in 1859, and quickly became a leading player and captain. He looked up to Wills, terming him "the beau-ideal of an athlete"—high praise given Harrison's status as the champion runner of Victoria. Their presence in Geelong fuelled a local craze for football and ensured the Geelong Football Club's supremacy in the early 1860s. In an era when players moved freely among clubs, Wills still represented Melbourne, and in 1860, became the first captain and secretary of the Richmond Football Club (no connection with the AFL club). The code underwent revisions around this time, principally in response to the on-field actions of dominant players. "And there were none more dominant than Wills and Harrison", writes Coventry.
Tom Wills