Sonny Bill Williams

[hammer]

What a polarising figure Sonny Bill Williams is...rumour has it he is about to sign up with the Roosters for the 2013 season and this has triggered my thoughts of him from when he left the Bulldogs so many years ago.
Personally I don't he think should return to the NRL as he has caused such damage to the code through his past actions but I can see the attraction he poses as he is a terrific athlete.

[DIEHARD]

Well I wouldnt want him back in our game and especially my club because of his previous behaviour, words and the people around him. He strikes me as someone who is easily manipulated.

But the real clincher for me is the way he carried on during the rugby union world cup. Drawing attention to himself and his future when the focus should have been on the All Blacks and World Cup.

But hey, drama and narratives are very good for Rugby League. We need villains and heroes. And the Roosters fits that brief.

Manly hate the Bulldogs and the Bulldogs will hate the Roosters. That is good for media and good for crowds in Sydney for our game.

But if it was my choice, it wouldn't happen. He is a mercenary.

[Princey's Titanz]

Most people in the NRL hated Sonny Bill because he walked out on his contract but in reality we do not know the real reason as to why he really walked out on the Bulldogs.


Rumour has it tht the reason he walked out on the Bulldogs was for the $$$. But there was another rumour tht Steve Folkes questioned his religious beliefs which insulted S.B.W which lead to him walking out of his contract.


Most people will think the second rumour is dubious but there is a possibility tht it could've happened.

Everyone is saying tht Sonny Bill is all abt the money but he is getting $1 million offers from french clubs which he hasnt excepted.

SBW is an exciting but injury prone player who is an offloading machine, try scorer, dangerous tackler and a hole runner.

I would love to see him back in Rugby League because he will bring more excitement into the game. He is an exciting player and im happy for him to be back in the game tht he loves.

[DIEHARD]

He'll help the Kiwis, that is for sure.

[Titanic]

How much I'd hate to see him back in rugby league, I'd hate it even more if he was in our club but I'd hate most of all to have him running at us. What a dilemma. Maybe someone will knock him into next century during one of his love-fest bouts.

[Toads]

SBW would be best sticking with his Rugby Union and Boxing. I really don't think his heart is in Rugby League. If he came back to NRL, it'd only be for the money, which wouldn't be much better than what he'd be already getting.

[Chaos]

SBW would be best sticking with his Rugby Union and Boxing. I really don't think his heart is in Rugby League. If he came back to NRL, it'd only be for the money, which wouldn't be much better than what he'd be already getting.

SBW was an exciting Rugby League player and I'd be watching most games he plays.

You can't say he doesn't like playing Rugby League...he used to put in for the Bulldogs even though Folks had no idea how to use him.

The NRL is one of lowest paid sports with his options, so I'd doubt it's all for the money!

[Toads]

Seems no one knows how to utilize him then. As he changes his teams, as often as his undies. Another year, and yet another team (Chiefs for 2012).

There's a pattern forming in his career, that leads one to think that the problem may actually lay with him, and not the teams he has represented. Just maybe his ego is larger than what any team can accommodate, maybe quite similar like Anthony 'The Man' Mundine developed into, before he realised he was too good for any team in the National Comp?

That's why I prefer to see him stick with Union, as they won't wear that crap as quick the NRL does..

[Titanic]

I agree totally with you Toads. The only thing I like about union is that their administration generaly takes the upper ground compared to the players. The NRL sycophants bend over at every opportunity for so many of the hoons that call themselves professionals ... many of them, like the subject of this thread, are more akin to whores.

[C-Whiz]

I've posted about this before, but if the NRL takes this scumbag turncoat back after all the BS surrounding his walk out (yes, lets not forget he walked out on the NRL, his contract, his club and his team mates halfway through the season), then the NRL management have set a new low in their ability to run and manage this organisation.

The NRL does not need SBW, and no one should ever lower themselves to wanting or allowing him to even be considered for a return to the NRL. Straight up, the NRL finds a new and unusual way of cruelling itself at almost every opportunity, and this would be it's best effort yet.

Let SBW rot and fester in the scummy pond he created for himself, away from NRL.

[TITAN PETE]

By Robert Lowe
14:24 AEST Mon Jul 9 2012

Sonny Bill Williams says he'll be fulfilling a handshake agreement made several years ago when he returns to rugby league in the NRL in 2013 after walking away from rugby union's world champion All Blacks.

Dual international Williams revealed the agreement on Monday at a media conference where he announced he was taking up "an offer that I pretty much couldn't refuse" for a stint with Japanese rugby club Panasonic Wild Knights after completing his contract with Super Rugby leaders the Chiefs after their finals campaign.

He admitted it would be tougher than he'd expected to leave New Zealand rugby after enjoying a stellar season with the Chiefs which has elevated him to first-choice All Blacks inside centre ahead of long-serving World Cup star Ma'a Nonu.

While he declined to name the NRL team he's to join next year, 26-year-old Williams has been strongly linked to the Sydney Roosters for several months.

"This is due to a handshake agreement made a few years ago - before I came back to New Zealand - with an NRL club," Williams told a media conference in Hamilton.

Williams, who controversially walked out on the NRL's Canterbury Bulldogs mid-season in 2008 to switch codes to play rugby in France, said nothing had been signed with his 2013 NRL club and he wasn't in a position to elaborate.

Asked if he would like to stay with the Chiefs, he replied: "In a perfect world yes, but it's a pretty difficult situation.

"I just have to make the most of that.

"At this stage, if all things go well on their part, then I will be playing league.

"When I go there, I can't have this in the back of my mind. I have to start fresh and give them my all, which I will."

As for whether he regretted the handshake, he said: "It's a tough one."

He hadn't expected to enjoy his time with the Chiefs as much as he did but it wasn't an issue he could dwell on.

Williams admitted to nerves when he made his announcement at the Chiefs' headquarters.

He brushed off the brickbats that might come his way over his decision, saying be couldn't dwell on negatives.

Despite speculation that he could return to New Zealand rugby in time for the All Blacks World Cup title defence in 2015, Williams said he hadn't decided on his sporting future beyond next year.

If he did return, it would be with the Hamilton-based Chiefs, "even if there was no money here".

A member of New Zealand's Rugby World Cup winning effort last year, he hoped it could be possible for him to return to the All Blacks one day.

"But in saying that, I'm not going to hold my breath," he said.

"There's some great players here. Those players deserve all that they get.

"I've chosen my path and now I've got to walk it."

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said it was tough losing a player who was starting to fulfil his promise in the 15-a-side game.

"It is a shame and disappointing that New Zealand rugby is losing him," Hansen said.

In the meantime, Williams could play in next year's rugby league World Cup.

He said he was open to representing the Kiwis, for whom he played seven Tests before his code switch, but said his form would need to justify selection first.

The Japan club contract allows Williams, who is the New Zealand PBA heavyweight boxing champion, one fight during the season.

[Chaos]

It's about time he stepped back into the A grade sport.

[DIEHARD]

The Roosters have called a press conference for tomorrow at 12pm to make a "major contractual announcement." No prizes in guessing what it'll be about...

[TITAN PETE]

Williams signs one-year deal with Roosters

RSS
AAP Tue, Nov 13, 2012 - 12:49 PM


Dual international Sonny Bill Williams has confirmed a one-season deal with the Sydney Roosters for 2013 but admits coming back to the NRL wouldn't have been his first choice.

Rugby League's worst-kept secret finally became official on Tuesday, with Williams admitting he only left rugby union because of a handshake agreement he made with Roosters Chairman Nick Politis three years ago.

Williams said the decision was "tough" but he would be looking at the season with a "glass half full" attitude.

The 27-year-old said he'd grown to love rugby union after winning the Super Rugby championship this year with the Chiefs and the Rugby World Cup with the All Blacks in 2011.

Williams said returning to league after a five-year absence would be a "huge challenge."

His contract has yet to be ratified by the NRL but the Roosters expected that to be just a formality.

The former Canterbury Bulldogs star fronted his first press conference with the Roosters with his arm in a sling, and said his pectoral injury will take another two to four months to heal.

But he expected to be ready for round one of the NRL season in early March.

He declined to respond to criticism from former Bulldogs teammate Hazem El Masri, who said Williams shouldn't be allowed back in rugby league because of the way he walked out on the Bulldogs in 2008 when he left mid-season to join French rugby club Toulon.

"Haz is entitled to his opinion," was all Williams said.

Williams said he'd met his new Roosters teammates and was looking forward to the season ahead.

"The boys are a great bunch of blokes, a bit like the Chiefs, they're real young," he said.

"I'm looking forward to getting back out there in a game I grew up playing and put my best foot forward.

"It was pretty tough (to come back). It's tough, but me and Nick are good friends, good mates.

"He tried to get me when I was an 18-year-old.

"When I made that (handshake) agreement with him I knew it would always be the case ... glass half full."

Williams also has a boxing career but said he won't fight during the season.

He declined to confirm whether he would be available for the Kiwis' Rugby League World Cup campaign at the end of next season, saying it could depend on his boxing commitments.

Williams was primarily a back-rower in his league days and a centre in rugby union but said he was happy to play whatever position required by coach Trent Robinson.

[GC_Titans_Fan]

So the Stupid Bloody Wanker is back. Good thing it'll only be for one season.